


Emerald

by Cyriusli



Series: The Elemental Veil Series [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Gen, M/M, One-Sided Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 07:00:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 42
Words: 131,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13608063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyriusli/pseuds/Cyriusli
Summary: Sanji takes a job as a private chef. There he meets Zoro, a blind man who can't even be bothered to learn Sanji's name. One thing leads to another and Sanji ends up looking for answers to questions he probably shouldn't have asked in the first place. What he discovers will change his entire view of not only Zoro and the residents of the manor, but the entire world itself.





	1. Book One: Emerald

**Author's Note:**

> Emerald was originally written and posted to FF in late 2013 and 2014. I wrote it around the same time I wrote WWC. Eventually it made it here and then a couple years ago, on a whim I took it down as I planned to edit and redo some of the story line. I just never got there, so after some debating back and forth, talking to Shae and a few others, I have decided to bring it back.
> 
> I haven't touched the story at all with the exception of translating some of the things Zoro says in draconian at the end of the story. Emerald is still in it's original entirety as I wrote it back in '13 and '14. Emerald, to me, has always been one of my favorite stories. Zoro, in this story is my absolute favorite to write, and I always enjoyed working on this and was honestly very sad to see it end. I think that also contributed to my want to edit. I just wasn't done working with the version of the characters within this story. I should have just gone to Sediment and left Emerald alone. Oh well. It's back now.
> 
> To the old fans: I'm sorry. Looking back at it, taking Emerald down was a dumb idea and you will be happy to know that Shae never lets me live it down. I was just so unhappy with some of the minor plot holes and my own growth as a a writer, that I decided I wanted to revamp this and bring it back as something I felt was stronger than what it originally was. What ended up happening was that it sat in a folder in my Google Drive and did nothing. So, here it is, and maybe, just maybe, if I get a chance, I will actually go through and edit it. I promise, if I do, I won't take it down this time around.

When Sanji Black had first read the help wanted ad in the paper he had not been expecting this. Set back in the aging and dying woods of the privately owned island was a large manor house. It kind of reminded the blond of one of those creepy horror film houses and he could just picture the raging storm clouds with their crackling thunder and brilliant lightning.

Black wooden paneling, closed shutters, a tall metal fence that ran for as far as the eye could see in each direction. Over grown and over run front yard, dead trees with sparse leaves that blew in the wind that seemed to howl with a rage over the spires of the roof. A broken dragon weather vein he could hear screeching from where he stood. None of it was inviting in the slightest. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought it abandoned. Maybe it was.

Suddenly he wasn't sure he wanted the job anymore, but he never backed down from anything, so he swallowed down the bit of fear that had crept up his throat, pushed his hair back over his right eye and took a deep breath. His dress shoes clacked way too loud along the stone walk, muffled only by the dead grass that rose through the cracks. He went up the steps slowly, afraid that the creaks and groans may have been a warning from them before breaking under his slim weight, then he reached out and grasped the door knocker.

Who even had one of those these days? The large eagle gargoyle type creature stared back at him with tarnished eyes as his held the silver ring between shaky fingers before dropping it and hearing the sound echo upon the other side of the door. Shuffling from one foot to the other, he bit back the urge to grasp for a cigarette, instead biting at his lip and pulling it into his mouth.

After what seemed like eternity, the door shook and creaked open, revealing a female, ear buds in her ears as she lazily blew a large pink bubble at him. “Can I help you?” Fingers twirled in just as bright pink hair, pulling one bud from her ears and dropping it against a too big sweat shirt.

“Is...is this the Dracule Manor? I am here about the ad in the paper looking for a private chef?” Sanji wasn't sure if he was even in the right spot at this point. Why would such a lovely young creature live here of all places? Her large black make-uped eyes searched him up and down carefully, hungrily and he had never felt so naked in one of his suits before.

Then she shrugged, chewing loudly on her gum and stepped back, opening the door further. Her knee high red boots thunked softly on the dark plush carpet, slamming the large door behind Sanji after he had entered. “Do you have more things?” She asked, uninterested.

“N-No, I don't,” Sanji gazed about the large open foyer, two sets of black marble stairs circling the edges of the room, a long hallway between them looking like some sort of open maw, inviting him to his doom.

The girl walked towards the right set of stairs, waving casually down the hall. “You will find him in his office. Third door on the right. Good luck cutie,” she gave a wink, then popped her ear bud back into her ear and was off up the stairs with out another thought to the conversation.

Sanji was left standing there collecting his nerves and trying to figure out just what kind of other world he had walked into. Pulling out his phone, he frowned, seeing he had no service, but there was a wif-fi option, setting it to silent and moving down the hall.  _ Third door on the right. Third door on the right. _ He repeated the phrase as he counted the few doors, setting his small suitcase off to the side as he came to the door as had been directed.

In bright gold lettering the words,  _ Dracule Mihawk _ stood out against the black stained wooden door. Hesitating for only a second, he knocked on the door, jumping from nerves when a deep voice spoke for him to enter. The room on the other side was darkened by long thick dark red curtains covering the tall windows, the only light, a small lamp that sat on the corner of the large desk in the center of the room.

Behind the desk sat an older man, well older by Sanji's standards, with well groomed features and piercing gold eyes. Picking up a half full glass, that Sanji could only assume was a red wine from the shape of the item, he took a small sip and leaned back in his chair. “You must be Mister Black?”

“Yes,” He spoke confidently despite how much he seemed to be shaking. His palms were sweaty and his throat felt tight, but he nodded anyways. “Please, though, call me Sanji.”

“Very well, Sanji,” Setting the glass down, the man stood. “I am Dracule Mihawk, but I assume you knew that already. I am glad to have you join my staff. I know a bit of the man you studied under for your culinary and if you cook half as well as Zeff Baratie, then I will be more than pleased.”

Silently the man moved towards a bookshelf on the other side of the room, picking up a set of keys and a thin stack of papers. Sanji watched quietly, hands folded behind his back, fingers gripped together tightly. “Here are your keys. To the house, the kitchen, the wine cellars, store rooms; every thing you require access to, will be here. These,” he shuffled the papers slightly. “Are the terms of your employment and I would like them back by the end of the week.” Handing them both to Sanji, Dracule moved back to the desk, scribbling something on a piece of paper before reaching that out to him as well. “The wifi password.”

“Thank you,” With a curt nod, he took the slip of paper, pocketing it and standing awkwardly for more instruction as the man went back to his work. He was content to ignore Sanji till he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. The man raised an annoyed eyebrow at him as he looked up. “My room, sir? Where would you like me to put my things?”

“Ah, yes,” He nodded, picked up his desk phone, punching in a number and waiting for an answer. “Trafalgar,” he said firmly. “The chef has arrived. The corridor, yes, excellent. Thank you.” Setting the phone down, Dracule Mihawk, Sanji's new boss, gazed up at him uninterested. “My doctor, Law, will meet you back by the front door. He will do a fast check up and physical then will show you to your room. I look forwards to your first meal Mister Black.”

“Of course,” Turning on his heel, Sanji had never been so thankful to leave a room. Grabbing at his things as the door clicked shut behind him, the blond made his way back towards the front door, loosening his tie and exhaling in relief. Why that man made him so nervous right then...he hoped it was just because it was formal introductions and he would get over it soon enough. Stuffing the keys into a pocket, he folded his papers in half, filing them away in his inside breast pocket for the time being, coming back to the stairs to wait for the doctor.

What kind of man was this Dracule Mihawk anyways? He had heard he was the heir to a rich family, shrouded in secrets and lies, killing off one another till only he remained. Was that why the carpets were an almost black red? Picking up his foot to inspect the sole for imaginary blood, a tap on the shoulder made him jump and he spun to glare at the person as a low chuckle sounded.

“Sanji Black is it?” The man was thumbing through a phone, before he nodded and looked up to him, eyes rimmed in black eyeliner, much like the girl's had been. Did everyone around here wear make up? What had he gotten into? “My name is Trafalgar Law, I am Master Mihawk's physician.”

The chef could only nod dumbly as the doctor turned down a hall he had missed before. Sanji was thankful that the curtains were at least pulled back here, letting in what little sunlight there was as they padded silently down the carpeted hall. He reached out to touch one, feeling the soft velvet under his fingers. “I know what you're thinking-ya?” Law spoke in a deep raspy voice, as if he only talked when he needed to do so. “It's really not that bad here. Most of the time we are free to do as we like. He keeps to himself.”

“He?” The blond questioned before it hit him. “Oh, you mean Mihawk?”

“Master Mihawk. I suggest not making that mistake in front of him. He is a kind man, but has a bit of a temper at times as well. He likes his formality as well. Do remember that-ya?”

“Okay,” Sanji mumbled as Law swung into a brightly lit white room. It completely reminded Sanji of a clinic back in the city and he wondered for a moment if maybe that's where this man worked before he came here. Again he set down his things, waiting for what was going to happen.

“I will need a sample of your blood.” Trafalgar spoke calmly as he moved about the room, shuffling some papers, washing his hands and finding some rubber gloves. He wrote something down on the papers before snapping on the gloves and turning to the chef.

“What for?” Already Sanji was shedding his jacket, not wanting to argue with the man, but wanting to know what was going on just the same.

“I do it with everyone. I keep some blood stored here. Master Mihawk likes to be well prepared if there is ever a serious accident.”

“He doesn't get out much does he?”

“Sit up here would you please-ya?” Law patted the examine table in the middle of the room, but shook his head. “Actually he is gone most of time, that's why he makes these precautions. If something happens while he is away, we are able to fix most things here on the island.”

“I don't understand,” Frowning, Sanji stared off as he numbly rolled his shirt sleeve up past his elbow. He watched for a moment as the doctor prepped his arm for taking the blood, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “If he is gone most of the time, why hire a staff?”

He didn't get an answer and instead the rest of his visit with Law was done in silence, the only conversation being when Law asked a question pertaining to his health, before the doctor kicked him out to fend for himself in the house. Didn't even bother to show him to his room like Master Mihawk had said he would. Sanji had no idea where to do or what to do, so he eventually found his way to the front hall again, hoping for something,  _ anything _ that may help him learn his way around here. The people he had encountered so far were friendly enough, in a weird ass cryptic sort of way, but none of them were good on giving him any type of help or directions.

Setting his suit jacket and belongings at the bottom of the stairs, he sat down on the cool marble and fished out the the wifi pass code. The blond punched it in when prompted, shock and delight crossing his pale features when a confirmation of an app appeared on his screen. For the untalkative guy that he was, Mihawk had thought of everything, including this nifty little GPS app of the manor.

He only got turned around once, but finally Sanji made it to the large stocked kitchen. He would have some work to do here though because despite the full shelves and walk ins, nothing looked like it had been used in a long long time. There was dust everywhere! The floors looked like they needed to be mopped, the counters washed. There was a stack of dishes near the dishwasher and a nice fillet knife sitting in a pool of water. With a sigh and a hand through his hair, Sanji moved towards what appeared to be a dry store room in hopes of some sort of cleaning supplies.

The whining creak and slam of a door stopped him in his tracks and he turned to see an open door off towards the far back corner of the room. Could those be the wine cellars? Mihawk had mentioned that. Walking over carefully, Sanji could feel the cool air rolling out into the room and smell the dampness of mold and dirt as he peered over the lip and down the stairs. “Hello?” He called out tentatively, not wanting to startle who ever could be down there. There came another rattle, of glass this time, with a low curse and Sanji trotted down the wooden stairs to investigate.

The size of the bricked room got his attention first, with several doors leading off into other rooms as well. Dates seemed to be written in a fancy script along aged papers, tall black metal racks filled with bottles and barrels in between each set of doors in the hexagonal room, muted reds and browns making the one light over head dimmer than it really was. The floor was dirt and the obvious source of the smell as he stepped off the last wooden stair, looking at each of the slips of paper.

Four of the six doors had dates, like Sanji had expected. A fifth door, which was actually the third apparently, if he was to go by the small gold number in the center of the frame, had a single word written flawlessly in elegant cursive:  _ Roronoa. _

Reaching out, he tried the handle, not truly surprised when he found it locked. Turning around with a sigh, he noticed a light on in the room across the small open space from him, the last of the rooms, the doorway hidden under the stairs. This door was just like the others, the numbers a range of about thirty years, good years too, if Sanji knew anything about wines. And he did. So why was this door open and this light on? Who was possibly down here? If no one, why had whoever been here left the light on? Was he going to have to deal with thieves in his new place of employment?

All the questions fell away though as Sanji caught sight of the cause of the racket down here. A man stood in the middle of the small room with his back to the chef, shoulders tensed as he seemed to be wrestling with something in his hands. With a sigh, a hand ran through short cropped green hair, jingling three golden earrings in his left ear, before the hand went to his hip.

Dressed in what Sanji could only describe as a coat, the long dark green material falling to just above his knees, he noticed black pants and boots. Thick and tanned fingers tapped against a deep red sash around his waist and the blond gulped at the width of the man's shoulders. He moved then, this man did, tilting his head to the side and back slightly before he spoke. His voice was deep and husky, sounding a little raw like he hadn't drank anything in a long time. “Who are you?”

“M-me?” Sanji stuttered as the man turned, gaze seeming to lock with his as the blond's eyes widened. It was hard to determine which feature stuck out more to him, the scar over his left eye that sealed it shut or the pure white right eye that seemed to bore unseeing into Sanji's core. Small shadows from tufted bangs fell across his face from the single bulb light over head, casting long trails over his nose and cheekbones, darkening his eyes just enough to portray an air of ferocity Sanji wasn't sure he wanted to entangle with.

The man snorted. “I can only smell one of you, so yes; you.” In his hands, Sanji could clearly see a type of alcohol bottle now. A long thin clear bottle with a clear liquid inside it. That was no wine that he knew of and he cast a small glance to the shelves before the man's words caught up to him.

“Smell?” Sanji barked. He most certainly did not smell. He bathed every damned day. More than he could say from the looks of this man.

The man hummed in thought, before he nodded, a small chime of his earrings as he did so. “Yes, smell. I will remember you now.”

Sanji wasn't sure what he meant by that, but decided it was better to leave it for now. The people on this island were of a weird bunch. Well the one's he had encountered so far at any rate. “Would you like me to open that?” He asked pointing towards the bottle.

“You think I can't? Is that it?” The man clutched the bottle to his bare chest, the front of the jacket wide open and displaying nothing but hard packed muscles under more tanned skin. Under his fingers he could see a long jagged scar running the cross length of his chest, dipping from his left shoulder towards his right hip. Sanji swallowed again, merely shaking his head. With a grunt the man went back to trying to open the bottle, shrugging as he gave up, jamming the cork into his mouth and ripping it out with his teeth before spitting it to the ground.

Sanji watched in horror at the action, but the man seemed satisfied as he pulled the bottle from his mouth, wiping the back of a hand across it before jerking his head in Sanji's general direction. “If you are not going to give me a name, at least get out of my way.”

Mouth open in shock, Sanji stepped aside, letting the man pass and he stalked up the stairs, only tripping over himself once as he muttered curses under his breath. Sanji watched him go, beyond himself at who this man was and what types of people seemed to be able to move free about the large manor house.

Maybe the rumors were true after all.

 


	2. Book One: Emerald

Sanji spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening cleaning the kitchen till it was to his standards. He took an inventory of the pantry, walk-in fridge and freezer, making a short list of items that he still needed or would have just liked to have on hand. Tired and weary, he fell down onto a stool, leaning forwards as he ran damp hands through his hair with a deep sigh.

“Whoa, Bro, you look like shit!” The new voice and the smack of bare feet on his newly mopped floors made him grind his teeth as the blond's head snapped up to see who was in the kitchen. He wouldn't call it his kitchen, not yet. “You must be the cook! Ah man, that's great!”

There was an obnoxious red and yellow flower print Hawaiian shirt and Sanji closed his eyes, rolling them behind his lids at the fact it wasn't even buttoned. And let's not even go there about the fact he wasn't wearing pants. The horrendous black speed-o doing nothing to help the outfit, if it could be called that, in the slightest. “And you are?” Sanji tried to bite back the sarcasm, but as the large man walked loudly to a smaller fridge and pulled out a bottle of soda, he was sure he failed. Sanji did have to admit though, the star tattoos were kinda cool.

The man laughed, running a hand through moosed blue hair. “Name's Cuttey Flam, but everyone calls me Franky. I'm the grounds keeper and mechanic.”

“Some job you're doing with the front.” Sanji rolled his eyes, jerking a hand in what he thought would be the general direction of the front of the large house. “Name's Sanji.”

“Master Mihawk wants the front to look like that, you should see the back. And the rest of this miserable house.” Franky waved a hand casually through the air. “I love her, but she's a lot of work!”

Sanji kept quiet, he really didn't have a lot to say to this new comer and he was tired. Too many strange people, weird encounters and hard labor for one day. Franky didn't seem to care in the slightest though. “So,” he asked, setting his soda bottle on the stainless steel table top with a clink and pulling another stool out to sit on. “After cleaning the pool I'm starving! What's for dinner Sanji-Bro?”

“Please don't call me that.” Sanji mumbled into his hands, cracking them so he could look to the man sitting across from him. “And I don't know. I don't even know how many people to cook for. You make five that I am aware of in this place.”

“Five?” The large man jerked his head back. “Dude, you make eight.” He gave a loud laugh, the annoying noise ringing about the open kitchen. “It will usually be seven though.” He gave a long sigh before picking up his drink again. “Like tonight. Only need to cook for seven.”

“I am not going to not cook for someone. If they are here, they will eat.”

“They did,” Franky sounded annoyed as he spoke, but then grinned broadly as he got up. “Anything but fish man would be super! Catch ya later Sanji-Bro!” And he walked out, leaving the blond chef to his own questions.

For starters, the two at the forefront of his mind were why were only seven of the supposed eight people eating and why no fish? That didn't make any sense. Maybe because they lived on a lake, they ate a lot of it? Yes, that had to be it. So, then, what...pork? Beef? Chicken was too close to fish in a lot of ways, being a white meat and so was pork...okay, beef it was. A little red meat never hurt anyone. Besides, just thinking about it was making Sanji's mouth water.

Getting up off his stool, Sanji headed back for the walk in to once again survey what he had. Not because he didn't know at this point, but because menu planning off the top of your head was difficult sometimes, especially when you had no idea what anyone's taste was beyond one person saying no fish and having tons of red wines. Visual aids were a requirement tonight. He was going to have to make menu plans, that much was for sure. Lots of work ahead of him still.

The cool air of the walk-in smacked him in the face, almost literally as the blower was turned towards the door so that who ever entered got blasted with cold air right off. It mussed up his hair, but he ignored it in favor of crossing his arms and eying the crates, baskets and metal containers of meats, fruits and vegetables. For there only being seven, well now eight, people here, Sanji still couldn't get over how well stocked this place was! But, ironically, there was no fish to be seen.

Several things seemed off to the blond but only having been here a few hours it made sense. The standoffish vibe he got from both Master Mihawk and the girl made him wonder if she was related to him in some way. She most certainly didn't act like she worked here. Then there was the doctor, Law. He had all but pushed Sanji out of his office and lab, but he also seemed very focused on the blood samples he had gotten, so Sanji supposed that made sense as well.

The strange drunk in the basement had to of been the most bizarre of them though, even weirder than Franky, who besides Mihawk had held any real type of conversation with him. Everyone here seemed very dismissive though and it was already getting on the chef's nerves. The man's words came back to him though, his comment on being able to smell him and Sanji wondered if he may have blind his whole life, or at least a very long time.

He had heard that other senses became sharper when one was lost, but it also could have just been the drunk ramblings of an alcoholic, which from the way he had staggered from the room and tripped up the stairs, was the most likely answer. He wondered if he would be able to buy a lock for the door to the wine cellar. That would make the man sober up pretty damned quick!

Deciding on some nice thick steaks, with broccoli and asparagus and probably some rice pilaf, Sanji exited the walk-in long enough to retrieve a pan for the steaks and a bowl for the vegetables. Well, a large stainer actually, balancing everything with practiced ease as he made his way to the prep sinks to set the strainer down before moving towards the grill section of his stove set.

Besides his time working under Zeff, Sanji had never been in a kitchen like this before and it was all his now. He was the head chef, the only chef, but that was simply a fine detail, and everything that came from here was going to be a masterful perfection of his own creation.

So he set to work, washing his hands, seasoning the meat, lighting and heating his grill racks, washing and chopping the greens for steaming, finding and preparing the rice dish. Satisfied that everything was set to cook, Sanji decided now would be time for a quick smoke break and made his way to the door he had discovered that led out to the back gardens. Propping open the metal door, he pushed through the screen door and stepped out onto the small patio, pulling his smokes from his pocket and lighting one easily.

He was closed in on three sides with vine covered walls, the house wall being the forth, the vibrant greens and small purple flowers looking so out of place compared to the dead front yard. Franky had been right, so far the gardens were incredible and he hadn't even set foot in them yet. Under his feet were laid stone slabs, large chunks of multicolored slate, with small white gravel between. Not a single blade of grass poked through either. Off to his left was a small metal table with three metal chairs. They were painted black and well taken care of from the looks of them, so he made his way over to them to sit as he smoked.

The pressure came off his feet instantly and he groaned in bliss, throwing his legs up onto the seat of one of the other chairs, grinning around the butt as he sucked in another drag, leaning back and exhaling with a sigh. Okay, he could get used to this if his domain was going to lead to such a peaceful environment. He would have to get a butt can for out here though, not wanting to start dropping them wherever he put them out.

The air was warm, even for being so late in the evening and Sanji really did wonder about the vast contrast of this side of the house verses the front. It was like he walked through some sort of portal to another world. After breakfast tomorrow, in the light he would have to go exploring the gardens. Maybe he could ask Franky if he could cut some flowers for the girl he saw earlier. A small gathering of them to place on the table in the large dinning room would lighten things up just enough. So far everything was so dark and dreary, it was depressing.

A loud wet smash broke him from his dream and Sanji jumped to his feet at the barked curse, both chairs scraping across the stone loudly. Rolling the cigarette across his lip with his tongue, the blond ducked through the small doorway, moving aside some stray vines and stepped out onto another patio, this one larger, but also banked by the same vine and wall, effectively boxing him into an open ceiling room. And standing in the middle of the room was none other than the earlier mentioned drunk. “Ah, it's you,” the man spoke calmly, frowning as he moved both arms to his hips.

“I have a name,” Sanji said as he frowned as well, looking to the man's feet and the broken bottle he had taken earlier. The clear liquid had splashed against his boots, the shine catching the last few rays of light out in the quickly dimming evening.

The man grunted, shaking his head. “Don't care, Cook.” Crouching down, Sanji watched, actually quite amazed, at how easily he began picking up the shards of glass with nimble fingers.

“You shouldn't...” He bit off his sentence as the man snapped his head up, once again that pure white eye seeming to focus in right on his location. With a swallow, he sucked in a drag off the smoke, the green haired man wrinkling his nose at the smell.

“I can do it. You smoke as a cook? Doesn't that dull your pallet?” The deep voice wasn't mocking, which for some reason struck Sanji as odd, but was instead poising a purposeful question and the blond found himself nodding in agreement.

“It can, but I work around it.” The man grunted in response, which he seemed to do quite a bit, Sanji was beginning to notice, turning his attention back to the pieces of glass at his feet.

“Oh, there you are.” The tone of a female voice caught Sanji off guard but the green haired man stood instantly, dropping the glass he had piled in his hand and wiped them off on his coat, turning his head in the general direction of the voice. “What happened?”

“I dropped it,” The man mumbled quietly as the pink haired girl from before appeared from the same direction Sanji had come from. She brushed past him, moving to the other man and wrapping her arms around his, dropping her head onto his shoulder. The chef watched as the large man tensed under the small girl, but let her hang off him as he sighed and swung his face towards her. “I'm sorry.”

“You're so cute,” she gave a giggle as she pressed a kiss to his cheek near his scarred eye. “Just don't be trying to clean it up. Remember what happened last time.” She smiled at him as he hummed back, seeming to lose himself in some memory before she tugged on his arm. “Come on, let's go. Franky told me he had to clean the pool again, so I ran you a bath.” Frowning as she spoke, she started back the way she had come towards the house.

“You didn't have to,” Despite walking with her, Sanji could see the man didn't really want to go with her, but did so anyways as the two moved from where the three were standing back towards the kitchen, ignoring him like he wasn't even there. There were hushed words between them as they walked arm in arm, his shoulders rigid and square, a vast contrast to hers as her pigtails bounced easily. The spring of the screen door sounded and the man grunted again. “Oi, Cook,”

“Yeah?” Sanji bit his cheek from barking out anything more. For whatever reason the girl seemed to have a soft spot for the drunk and until he knew more, he was pretty sure he would be doing that a lot.

“Clean that glass up and check the food. I can smell those steaks burning.” He barked out a laugh and the screen door slammed shut, the girl's scolding of the man lost to Sanji as the words registered.

“Shit!” He darted through the archway and opened the door, dashing over to check on the steaks that were perfectly fine. As well as the rice and the water for the vegetables. “That bastard!” He stomped his foot, grinding his cigarette between his teeth. His cigarette! In his panic, the blond didn't even put it out before coming in here and he pulled the butt from his mouth, smashing it into some water left in the bottom of the sink before throwing it in the trash and washing his hands.

What sort of sick cruel joke had that been? Who in there right mind tells a chef their food is burning in jest like that? He had just crossed so many kitchen and culinary rules by bringing that smoke in here like that! Sanji shook his head, taking a deep breath and leaning his forearms on the edge of the sink. And he still had dinner to plate, serve and eat with these people.

Never had he been so flustered in one day in all his life!

Turning back towards the grill, reaching for the metal tongs and easily turning the steaks, reveling in the sizzle that sounded as he did so, Sanji sincerely hoped for at least one  _ normal _ person on this island or he might just go insane! He stirred the rice, the nutty butter aroma filling the area pleasantly and turned his attention once again to the pot of water that he had set for steaming the last item to dinner.

Should he whip up a quick dessert while he was at it to? He did want to ask everyone for their likes and dislikes in hopes to start to put that menu together, so maybe over coffee and sweets? But what could he whip up quickly and easily? He could swiftly make a batch of no bake cookies, letting them cool while they all ate. Yes, that would do the trick nicely.

In no time at all it seemed, Sanji was spooning out the cookies onto wax paper across a table as the dinner meal itself came to a finish and he shifted gears to get everything plated, covered and out to the dinning room. He made eight plates despite Franky saying there was no need and set them all upon the cart he had hauled from the depths of the closet, pushing out into the dark room, the double kitchen doors swinging quietly on their hinges. He wasn't sure if he was okay with the fact he was all by himself or not as he entered the room and the blond's shoulders dropped as it hit him. He had no idea how to call everyone for dinner... Or if it was even the right time for dinner? Did they normally all just fend for themselves?

Fuck! He had just spent the last several hours making and preparing food for people who he may not even see again tonight! Pausing dead in his tracks in the middle of the room, he tried to glare a hole in the table at the thought of having to put all this amazing food in the walk in for people to heat on their own. If they even saw it for that matter.

No, there had to be some way to get everyone's attention. But what? Ah, the GPS app thing on his phone. Maybe that had a way to let everyone know it was time for dinner! Sanji was in the middle of spinning on his heel, headed back to the kitchen for his phone, when the far door to the room banged open, once again revealing the pink haired girl. Only this time she was minus the drunk green haired bastard.

“Is that dinner? Oh you cooked?!” Walking over to him and pulling the seemingly ever present ear buds from her ears, the female lifted the covers to one of the trays and hummed. “Mmm....looks really good. We haven't had steak in a long time! I bet everyone will enjoy it! Well except for cranky, but he won't really eat anything if it's not from the homelands.”

Her dark eyes flicked up to Sanji's wide blue and she smiled. “I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm Perona.” Fluttering the dark lashes, Sanji found himself lost in the dark gaze. “And what's your name cutie? There have been so many people in and out the last few days, it was becoming a nightmare!” She pouted, sticking out her lower lip and crossing her arms. “So many of them were not cute too.”

“M-my name? Sanji Black, but please darling, call me Sanji.” Gripping the handle of the cart as tight as he could, Sanji tried to keep himself from swooning over one of his coworkers, if not his boss's family, swallowing hard as Perona pulled a small pink phone from a pocket, thumbing through it till she grinned at him. The blond just about melted inside. Working here may be harder than he originally thought!

“Shall we call everyone for dinner?”

 


	3. Book One: Emerald

Perona insisted on helping set the plates on the table, despite Sanji's constant pleas of him being able to do it on his own. She shrugged at him, blowing a bubble in her gum. “I am used to it. I'm not very good at cooking but I tend to look after...” she stopped, shaking her head, her bright curls bouncing. “Ah, well, I'm going to get a drink. Everyone should be here shortly. Come on cutie!”

Sanji was speechless. This girl, whatever her connection to the people here may be, was going about things like he wasn't even there. Granted he appreciated the help, but he didn't need such a lovely thing as herself doing it. He could do it himself or maybe Master Mihawk would be willing to hire someone to help, but with there only being eight people here, that seemed overkill, even to Sanji.

Pushing the now empty cart with him, he entered the kitchen to see Perona bite into one of the still warm cookies as she dropped her gum in a trashcan. “Oh my god! These are so good! What are they?”

“No bake cookies dear,” Sanji couldn't help but grin. People enjoying his cooking was always the best type of compliment, even when it was something simple like these cookies. “I made some iced tea earlier, would that be suitable for everyone?”

She nodded, cheeks puffed full of her cookie and the blond turned, making his way to the smaller fridge that Franky had taken his drink from earlier and removing the pitcher of tea from it. “Make sure to grab a soda for Franky though!”

Sanji hesitated for only a split second as he set the item on the counter behind him. That was the first time anyone had referred to another by name around here with the exception of Mihawk. And now, too, he was beginning to notice, Perona was much more bubbly and cheerful than she had been earlier. She did say though that there had been a lot of people in and out, maybe it was just relief at finding a permanent chef. Or not having to deal with that drunk bastard.

Man, Sanji was glad she came and dragged his scruffy ass away, but she should not have had to deal with him! The entire encounter was confusing and having to deal with that man was draining. Grabbing a soda and closing the door, he was a bit shocked, but not so at the same time, to see the pink haired girl on her tip toes pulling several large glasses from a cabinet and setting them on the tray cart she had moved to her side. “Dear, please, this is the reason I was hired remember?”

“I'm just so used to doing it,” she frowned as she set the last of the six glasses down quietly. “Well, I didn't cook a lot, mostly looking after him, but...” she trailed off again, giving the blond a bright smile. “I bet the others have come now, let's go! I will introduce you to everyone!”

“That would be great,” Sanji smiled back, placing the items he held on the cart and following the girl into the large dinning room. Mihawk was already sitting at the head of the table, a half full wine glass in hand as he listened to what a paper shuffling Law was saying. Perona instantly left Sanji to move to sit next to the older man, who cast her a glance before returning to the doctor.

The golden eyes peered at the other man with interest as he took a sip of his wine. “And the results?”

“I won't have them till tomorrow-ya.” Law spoke calmly, his voice somehow soothing as Perona smacked a palm to her chin and sighed as she watched him with interest. “Sanji's blood is rare.”

“What about me?” The words came out before he could stop them and Law turned around in his seat as the Manor Master turned his head to raise an eyebrow at him. “Sorry,” he mumbled, pouring a glass of the iced tea and setting it in front of the dark haired doctor.

Wrinkling his nose at it, Law picked it up and took a cautious sip before setting it back down and picking up a pen, going back to his papers. “That's alright,” Mihawk spoke as he watched Sanji continue to pour more drinks for the other places at the table, setting Franky's bottle down awkwardly in the middle of the table, not sure of where to put it. “It pertains to you, you have the right to know.”

“Unfortunately, none of us will know till tomorrow-ya,” Gathering the papers and smacking them on the table top into a neat pile, the doctor set them aside and leaned back in his chair, adjusting his hat and folding his hands in his lap. “Where is everyone?”

“I put Cranky to bed,” Perona frowned as Sanji set the last glass down in front of her and pushed the cart off to the side. “Sit here with me Sanji!” She grasped at his arm, almost pulling him down into the table before he caught himself and slid into the plush high backed chair quietly, setting the nearly empty iced tea pitcher in the center. “He won't stay there though, he was drinking again.”

“He does what he wants,” Mihawk spoke firmly, gaze snapping up to the far doors as they banged open. With a sigh, he picked up his glass and Sanji was pretty sure he began gulping it down.

“Super!” Franky's loud voice echoed across the room. “What did you make in the end Sanji?”

“Uh...” Words failed him as he caught sight of the woman chuckling lightly, her arm in the crook of the large man's elbow. “Steaks, I made steaks.” He stood as the two separated and sat down, the blue haired man snatching his bottle and leaning back in the chair. At least he had shorts on now.

“Meet Miss Nico,” Mihawk spoke before the blond could even get the question out. “She is a historian.”

“Indeed,” The woman replied coolly, blue eyes meeting Sanji's own and he felt his face heat up under that gaze, plunking back down in his seat quickly. “Please, Sanji, call me Robin. Franky has informed me that you are our new chef.”

“Y-yes, my dear, I am.” He nodded with a swallow, hands balling into fists in his lap as her gaze never shifted and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable under her watchful eyes.

“She is very good at what she does,” The golden eyed man mused quietly.

“Whoa man,” Franky set the bottle down on the table, leaning out around Robin and raising an eyebrow at him. His sunglasses caught the light and Sanji moved his eyes to him over the woman. “Hands off bro,”

“What?” The word came out awkwardly as the blond titled his head slightly.

“Robin is Franky's wife,” Perona hissed into his ear not to quietly either and Sanji sat back in his chair with a thump as Law chuckled at him, his own dark piercing gaze transfixed on him. Mihawk seemed to be ignoring everyone, content to drink his wine and watch.

“What?!” Sanji barked, slamming a hand over his mouth as his eyes went wide. The blond had a feeling meal times around here were going to be hectic. And not everyone was even here.

Robin giggled behind a hand as Franky frowned. “Yeah, we get that a lot. Not cool man.”

Sanji went to open his mouth to come up with some sorry of reason for his outburst. He hadn't meant it in the way it came out, he was just simply shocked that the two were together, when Mihawk cleared his throat. “Where is...” The man started, brow furrowing as the kitchen doors slammed open this time to reveal another man. Boots covered in mud and Sanji bit his tongue thinking that he was going to have to clean up in there again cause he just trekked through his clean kitchen!

“I'm here!” The man was shaking slightly, swallowing and eyes wide from under a massive amount of loosely pulled back curly black hair. “The kitchen smells horrible! It took me a second to get over the smell!” He wiped what Sanji could clearly see were muck covered hands on even dirtier baggy pants, the frayed suspenders barely doing their job of keeping them in place as he shifted the strap of his bag over his head and dropped it by the door, coming to sit by Law. The doctor simply raised an eyebrow at him before shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“Yay! We can eat now!” Perona dived upon her covered plate, all but throwing the lid in front of her and grabbing up her utensils faster than Sanji had seen in a long time. “Some one who is a better cook than me! And it's not fish! Oh I could kiss you Sanji!”

Sanji choked on the mouthful of tea he was trying to drink, it going up his nose and stinging the inside of it as he swallowed what he could. He shuffled, clearing his throat and set his glass down quickly. “Thank you my dear.” His voice cracked as he coughed, the clangs of the other lids being removed ringing about the room.

“Hm,” Mihawk spoke calmly, picking up his knife. “This looks delicious indeed. Excellent work Mister Black.”

“Oh no!” The curly haired man slammed the lid back over his food, both hands holding onto the tray cover as he shook. He acted as if the food underneath was about to jump up and attack him. “It's on my plate! How am I supposed to eat?!”

“Give it here, ya.” Law leaned over and pulled the tray towards him, lifting the cover and stabbing at the steak. “It's just beef Usopp-ya. It won't hurt you.”

“But it's  _ meat  _ Law!” The man, Usopp, snatched his plate back as soon as the perfect piece of steak was off his plate and Sanji watched wide eyed in horror as the doctor set it in the top of one of the discarded lids before moving back to his own food.

“Give it here Bro!” Franky's voice rang out and without even looking, Law slid the cover down in his direction where Robin caught it and handed it over to her practically drooling husband. “You want some babe?”

“I'm fine, thank you Franky.” She said, a small content smile forming on her features.

“Are we all settled in now?” Mihawk spoke up, looking around at everyone in turn, receiving several nods and a couple hums from full mouths of food. “Okay then,” he set his fork down, crossing his hands in his lap. “This is Sanji Black, our new chef. I would like everyone to make a list of likes and dislikes and hand them to him by breakfast. I would not like a repeat of Usopp's performance just now.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, sinking into his chair. “I just can't handle meat.”

“We know Usopp. Chill Bro, it's not a big deal, Sanji didn't know.” Franky spoke up from farther down the table, leaning out again to look at the flabbergasted blond. “Usopp here is a vegetarian.”

“Oh,” Sanji nodded sharply. “I'm sorry! It wont happen again. I didn't know.”

“Relax, Sanji,” Master Mihawk spoke quietly. “That is why I asked them to compile lists for you. I should have had them do it before now, but as of late we have mostly been fending for ourselves. Perona, you will take care of...”

“Yes,” Perona nodded sharply, hair bouncing as she did so. “Nothing with change there, I can assure you.”

“Very well,” he tapped the edge of his glass and took a breath. “For breakfast and from now on, arranging things buffet style so everyone can choose from your menu layout for the meal, will be best Sanji.” The chef nodded quickly, liking that idea very much himself. “I will be leaving after breakfast in the morning. Something came up that I must attend to instantly. Franky if you could drive me to the airport that would be greatly appreciated.”

“Yes Master Mihawk,” The words sounded strange coming from the large man as he bobbed his head and went back to eating. It was Robin though, who set her fork down and turned towards the head of the table, her deep blue eyes wide and questioning.

“What happened?”

“Ruby.” The single word hushed the entire room, several heads swinging in shock towards the man before dropping to their plates and continuing to eat. Sanji didn't know what to think of that. What was so important about a ruby anyways? Did some one steal it? “Don't tell Zoro until I return. It won't help him any. And if something really did happen, I think it wise for me to tell him.”

“Okay,” Perona mumbled as she pulled a piece of steak from her fork. Everyone looked so defeated all of a sudden and from a simple word! So much for hoping to find the normal one of the group. It looked to Sanji like he was it!

The rest of dinner passed quietly, the only words spoken being from the house residents as they quietly mumbled thanks before stacking their plates on the cart and moving out of the room to carry on with their own business. Whatever this ruby was, it was of grave importance to the people of this house. Sanji was curious, but didn't ask, feeling if they wanted him to know, they would tell him. Robin excused herself first, claiming to need to return to the library for research and Franky went with her, the smack of his feet dulled by the carpeting that seemed to be everywhere.

Usopp jumped up and almost ran for his bag, saying he needed to get back to the gardens but was going to take the long way around. Law simply left, his dark glare casting about the room as he gathered his papers and walked out. Lastly, Mihawk asked to speak with Perona and the two left the poor confused cook to his own devices of cleaning and preparing for a breakfast he wasn't sure how to make in the morning.

Dragging the cart with him, Sanji washed his hands and quickly put away the forgotten cookies, boxing them in a plastic container with a label and setting them aside. Could always use them as snacks through out the next few days as well.

He was thankful for the dishwasher, setting up the two trays, starting the first and moving to the patio again for a cigarette. He brought a metal can he found from the recycling and set it in the corner behind the table to use for his cigarette butts. It was completely dark now, the only noises that of crickets and some where far off came the hoot of an owl. The wind had died down and it was relatively peaceful actually.

That was until he heard the kitchen doors slam open and the rattle of a table. Jumping to his feet, Sanji threw the butt into the can and stomped his way back inside, throwing open the screen door and taking a deep breath to sling profanity at whoever it was who dared enter the kitchen at this time of night. The air left his lungs as he tilted his head to the side at the empty room. The blond knew he had heard something, but now there was nothing. No evidence that anyone had entered besides him.

The dishwasher came to a rattling stop and the chef walked over to it, switching out the two trays of dishes and turning towards the walk in. The least he could do would be to make some sort of fruit salad for Usopp, the poor guy. Sanji really wished someone had at least told him there was non meat eating people here. He had to make it up to him somehow.

Turning on his heel again, Sanji stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of the wine cellar door open again. He knew he had shut it earlier but now it was wide open like he had never touched it. Anger overriding his curiosity as to why the door was open again, he stalked over, going to slam it shut when he saw the light on. Hand on the switch to flick it, he heard a door creak and close with a soft click.

So, someone was down there. They better hope they had good reason, so help him if it was that drunk again! Perona had mentioned that he wouldn't stay where she had put him. It would figure he would return to the one place he could enable his bad habits. The blond was quiet as he snuck down the stairs in hopes of catching who ever this was off guard and hope fully scaring the piss outta them for good measure. Part of him wanted it to be the blind bastard.

It came as a shock, Sanji standing in the middle of the dirt floored room, that all the doors were closed and locked as he had left them. He tried. The only one he didn't have a key to was the one labeled  _ Roronoa _ but that was still locked as well. No one had been in the other ones. All the lights off and nothing missing, or so it looked like from his quick peaks.

Some one had opened that door and turned on the light, but if no one was down here, then who? Now he was hearing things. What in the hell was going on around here? He had a lot to learn about his new place of employment and it's secrets. Sanji only hoped he would be let in on some of them. Knowing what was going on around here would help if something ever happened.

Frowning, he turned, clomping back up the rickety wooden steps and turning off the light. Maybe he was just overtired and had left the light on and the door open. It was quite possible, it had been a very long day. Walking back to the dishwasher, opening it as he strode past towards the walk in, frowning at Usopp's mud trail, Sanji decided that had to have been what happened.

It still didn't explain the kitchen doors and the table though.

 


	4. Book One: Emerald

Sanji woke to several emails from the various people of the house. The only one who didn't send one was the drunk, Zoro, Master Mihawk had called him. What kinda name was that anyways? Reading over them quickly the blond was easily able to throw together an amazing breakfast and it went off without much hassle at all.

No one even seemed to care that the green haired man was missing and when he inquired as to where he was, everyone looked from one to the other and finally Usopp shrugged and Perona said he was most likely still sleeping. He also asked about his lab work to which Law coldly replied that it still wasn't done and once he had finished his bacon, he quickly set his plate on the cart and rushed from the room.

Mihawk and the grounds keeper left together, Robin soon after, heading to her library, where she apparently spent much of her time. Usopp scarfed down his fruit salad faster than Sanji had ever seen anyone before and jumped up, rushing through the kitchen towards the gardens, leaving him and Perona to finish off the meal quietly.

Sanji was actually thankful when she excused herself, and left, leaving him to tend to the clean up on his own. And as much as he didn't want to, he was a chef, so he made a plate of various left over and stuffed it in the small fridge for the weird blind man.

With a sigh and a smoke behind him, Sanji decided to take the next couple hours before lunch to familiarize himself with his new surroundings and left the dinning room to wander the halls. Making his way up the stairs Sanji knew hanging a left would being him towards the bedrooms. A whole wing for them! So instead he hung a right, raising an eyebrow at the first cracked door he came to. He caught sight of what looked to be a bookshelf, so the blond pressed a hand flush against the door and pushed. It opened silently to reveal a large high vaulted ceiling, bookshelves built directly into the walls ceiling to floor. In some places, Sanji even saw small balconies and second floors where small sitting areas had been arranged.

Near where he stood was a large desk, very similar to the one in Mihawk's office, a large green leather bound book resting on the clean surface. This struck him as odd and he walked over, foot steps muffled by the soft plush carpet. The book was obviously old, frayed and cracked edges, with what appeared to be real gold flecked lettering across the top. This wasn't what caught the blond's attention though, the set golden letters that spelled out  _ Roronoa _ made him run his hand over the smooth binding and hook his fingers under the edge of the top cover.

Just as he was about to lift it, a hand slammed onto the book and Sanji jumped back, snapping his head up and peering into the hardened glare of Robin. “What do you think you are doing?” She demanded of him and he didn't even realize he had taken a step back till his knees hit the edge of the chair Sanji had skirted around to get to the book. He fell into it, gripping at the arms with his fingers.

“I'm sorry,” The chef was fumbling for words, the librarian’s harsh look sending chills down his spine. “It has the same name as the room in the wine cellar. I just thought that maybe I could learn more about the wine was all. I have never heard of one called that.”

“A wine?” Robin raised an eyebrow at him, picking up the book and holding it close to her. “That's what you think this book is about?”

“Well, what else could it be?” Sanji perked up a little as he spoke, confusion hinting in the edge of his words. “Is it a rare one? Does it take long to produce? That would make sense and to keep it locked up so that drunk can't...” Sanji bit his tongue as the woman cut him off, her voice harsh and sharp.

“Zoro is  _ not _ a drunk!” She clutched onto the book tighter before turning and moving towards one of the small staircases that led to the second levels. Once at the top, she paused, turning and meeting Sanji's confused expression. “There is a lot here you do not understand. It would be wise of you to not make assumptions like that again Mister Black.”

As he pulled in a breath to speak, a flutter of wings and a loud caw caught his attention as a large black bird landed on the desk with a hop, dropping a piece of paper onto the polished surface. It jerked its head about, looking from Sanji to the desk and around the room, flying to Robin with another call as it saw her. “Is that a crow?”

“Raven actually,” She spoke lightly, scratching at the back of the animal's skull as she came to the desk. The bird hopped up her arm to her shoulder, continuing a random caw now and again as beady black eyes seemed to take in everything. “What have you brought me my dear Nami?” Picking up the paper, Robin read over it quickly, eyes widening before flicking her wrist and smiling at Sanji.

“What?” He asked simply, his own gaze locked onto the bird as it twisted it's head to preen some wing feathers.

“Why are you here Sanji Black?” Sitting in the large desk chair, Robin folded her arms across it, placing one palm against her chin. Her blue eyes shown with a mischievous glint and the blond swallowed.

“What?” Sanij said again, not entirely sure of the question. “I answered the ad in the paper for a private chef. You must have known that dear.”

“Quite,” she nodded slightly, but kept on. The black animal on her shoulder content to take it's preening bath without concern. “But what made you choose that particular ad?”

“I'm not quite sure I am following you Robin,” The blonde frowned, leaning back in the chair and relaxing slightly. “It was on the list, so I sent out a resume. I got a phone call back to come by, so I did.”

Robin was quiet a minute as she seemed to study him, fingers tapping lightly against her cheek. Parting her lips to pull in a breath, the librarian spoke with a collected tone. “When you encounter Zoro, what do you see?”

“What do I see? The man's a dr--” Sanji stopped as the dark haired woman raised an eyebrow in warning. “He's really blind isn't he?” The blond asked instead, to which Robin simply nodded. “He's just an aggressive mean person. He's arrogant and rude.”

“Is that all you see?” Her voice held something Sanji wasn't entirely sure of and he nodded, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. “The next time you meet; take a closer look. Then tell me what you see.”

The bird on her shoulder ruffled her feathers, cawing loudly to which a reply call sounded and a second bird landed on the desk the same as the first. “There's another one?!” Sanji blurted out as Robin ran a hand over this one's pure white feathers. Red eyes turned towards him as the bird took a hop closer and cawed loudly.

“Marvelous isn't he? A rare find Brook is. And what have you brought me today? Hm?”

Sanji stood, excusing himself and turning for the door, leaving the librarian to her weird pet birds. With his hand on the door, Robin spoke again, calling out to him with her lovely voice. “There are some things you do not wish the answers to, Sanji. Sometimes it is wiser to leave well enough alone.” With a small laugh, she took a breath. “I look forwards to your lunch. You received my email?”

“I-I did; yes. Thank you Robin.” With a sharp nod, Sanji ducked out of the room, slowly making his way down the hall once again. He shook his head in thought, wondering why exactly the historian had crows, no, ravens, and why they had brought her a piece of paper. What had been on that paper anyways? Whatever it was made her happy, that much was for sure. The questions pertaining to the blind drunk were a little off putting though.

Pulling his phone from his pocket and stopping in the middle of the hall, Sanji thumbed through to the app again. He scratched at his hair, still trying to wrap his head around the entire thing when he heard Law grumbling, a cold glare on his face as he stomped up the hall. “Oh, hey Law,” Sanji started, stopping as the glare was directed at him.

“Robin-ya in her library?” He snapped out, gritting his teeth.

“Yeah; why?” Sanji stepped aside as the doctor passed, raising an eyebrow at the entire encounter.

“That fucking bird of hers-ya! I'm gonna pluck it!” With a slam of the library door, Sanji was left alone in the hallway again. He thought of going to aid Robin, but he was pretty sure she could take care of herself. Besides, whatever it was most likely had nothing to do with him and getting involved after that little conversation would probably not be wise. A ping sounded from his phone, dragging his attention from the closed doors and Sanji saw the calendar icon pop up. Getting close to lunch time prep already. He really couldn't wait till he got a better handle on things around here. It would be nice when he was able to have a little more down time between meals.

Trotting down the stairs, Sanji made the somewhat familiar trek back to the dinning room and pushed open the door to the kitchen. The first thing the caught his attention was that once again the wine cellar door was open and he ground his teeth in anger because he knew damned well he closed it before breakfast! Slamming it closed, he vowed to get a lock for it, when he heard the clatter of cans and the clacking of what sounded like hooves. Spinning on his heel he couldn't believe his eyes. “What the actual fuck?!” He blurted out as a sheep, yes, a fucking sheep, darted towards him and slipped on the flooring as it rounded a table headed for the screen door.

Sanji shot off after it, chasing it through the rest of the kitchen, onto the patio and deeper into the gardens. The crazed animal bleated the entire time, bounding over plant pots and kicking up gravel. It slipped as it rounded a corner, as did Sanji, his dress shoes and the loose stone not making the greatest of a combination and he lost the annoying animal as it bounced away. He and Franky were going to have a long conversation about that! Next time he saw that damned sheep in the kitchen they would have lamb stew for dinner! Who kept a pet sheep anyways?

With a groan and a clatter of gravel, Sanji swung to his feet, wiping his hands on his pants and checking to see if his pants were ripped anywhere. His palms were bruised and cut, throbbing from where he caught his fall. It would put a damper on cooking for a meal or two, but he would just have to deal. The blond looked out over the plush green garden for any signs of that white walking fur ball, frowning when he didn't spot it at all. How it had managed to disappear so damned fast was beyond him!

With a frustrated sigh, because so far, nothing here had been easy, Sanji turned around, heading back the way he had come when the splash of water caught his attention. That's right, Franky had mentioned a pool and now that he actually took in his surrounding, he recognized the same type of vine wall as the ones near the house. So the pool must have been on the other side. There was a set of small steps leading up to the open doorway and the chef walked up them quietly, peering around the edge of the wall cautiously.

At first all he could see was the pool, the high mid morning sun reflecting off the rippling waters, giving it a glassy appearance and Sanji peered around, looking for another person. Not finding anyone, he huffed, blowing air from his mouth towards his bangs, moving to turn on a heel when the water surface broke revealing a green head of hair. Rolling his eyes, Sanji continued his spin, only stopping when Robin's words popped back into his head. Now was as good a time as any right?

So what did he see? Peering back over his shoulder, Sanji turned, snapping his jaw shut at the sight. Lots of hard packed muscles under tanned skin caught his attention for starters. Water running in rivulets down his neck, shoulders and back as he effortlessly pulled himself from the water. The muscles in his arms bulging and flexing under the efforts of the haul, revealing a well defined and naked ass. Water cascaded over the rounded globes, down his hips and legs to pool at his feet. The blind man shook his head, water flying everywhere as he stretched his arms out over his head. Sanji could see all the muscles in his ass and legs tense with the motion as he curled his toes for balance and arced his arms back before dropping them to his sides again. The surprisingly graceful and fluid arc of his arms allowing for an impressive show of rippling from between his shoulder blades.

Sanji felt himself bite at his lip as he knew he really shouldn't be watching, but be damned if he wasn't perfection. Sun glinted off droplets that remained dotted on his bronzed skin as Zoro stepped forwards and for a split second the blond actually felt bad as he fumbled to grasp at the towel he had before picking it up and scrubbing at his hair with it.

A noise escaped him, but Sanji wasn't sure what to call it as all the movement from across the water stopped and the blind man turned his head, hand and towel still pressed against the side of his head as that white eye managed to once again pin Sanji to his place. The two were quiet for a moment, before the man snorted and turned to fully face him. Sanji snapped his eyes shut, more out of fear at what it would do to him, because even though the man was blind, gawking was just rude, than what Zoro would do to him. The man must not have cared if he walked about naked. “Cook?” He asked and Sanji was pretty sure he caught slight confusion in his gruff voice. “What are you doing out here?”

Sanji answered honestly, cracking one eye slightly relieved to see that the man had at least dropped his hands so the towel was covering his crotch. “I was chasing a sheep.”

The green haired bastard had the audacity to laugh at him. The barked laughter echoing around the open gardens. “That's Merry.” He said simply with a smile. A smile that Sanji found made him grin as well before a frown pulled in to replace it.

“Merry? The sheep has a name?”

Zoro grunted with a nod, moving to sit in one of the lounge chairs, crossing his feet at the ankles as he stretched out in it like a fucking cat. He tossed the towel aside and crossed his hands behind his head. The blond caught a fleeting glance at the other man before adverting his eyes to the water, taking a deep, calming breath and frowning at what appeared to be moss growing on the bottom of it. “It's Usopp's sheep.” He spoke with a yawn and Sanji heard him crack something, his neck possibly. “I'm gonna take a nap. What are you making for lunch?”

“You didn't send me an email, so nothing you will like.” Sanji snapped at him.

“Fish will be fine then.” Settling his shoulders, Zoro closed his one good eye with a smirk.

“Everyone else said to not make fish though!” Why he was even arguing with the man, Sanji didn't know, but he was such a contradiction to everything else around here. The chef wanted to pull his hair out at the next comment the man made. Instead his stomped his foot and turned finally, stalking his way back to the kitchen to make lunch. Slamming his new kitchen equipment about as he shuffled through the walk-in looking for the quarter pan of trout he knew he had spotted the evening before.

“I'm not everyone one else am I Cook?”

 


	5. Book One: Emerald

“Sorry! Sorry!” Usopp slid into his chair next to Law, slamming his fists onto the table. “Let's eat!” There was a clatter of lids as everyone removed them to gawk at the food Sanji had masterfully created and plated. “Hey, Zoro,” The curly haired man said around a bite of his salad. “Why are you sitting in Master Mihawk's chair?”

“Cause he's not.” The blind man shrugged, stuffing a forkful of fish into his mouth and turning his head towards the doctor. Sanji still didn't fully understand how the blind jerk could tell where everyone was so easily. “Hey, Law, what'd that paper say?”

“I wouldn't know-ya!” The grumpy man snapped, slamming a hand onto the table. “Someone's fucking crow took it before I could read it!” He jerked a hand at Robin from her place further down the table.

“Nami is not a crow! She's a raven!” The historian sneered back, voice low and deadly. Next to Sanji, Perona swallowed and reached out quietly to grab at her glass, taking a drink and trying to ignore the entire encounter. “How'd you know about it Zoro?”

“Brook.” The green haired man nodded sharply with a swallow, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “Anyways, crow's not that bad ya know. Kinda like gamey chicken. Betcha the cook could make something at least half way decent out of them.”

Sanji's mouth dropped open as he jerked his head from the blind man to the woman as she practically yelled. “Zoro!” Robin's face dropped in horror as Law barked out a laugh, sitting back in his chair and pointing to the distraught librarian. “Don't talk about my birds like that!”

“They're just little spies,” Law scowled as he picked up his fork and the blond was simply amazed at how fast he could go from one emotion to another, almost like a light switch as he stabbed at his plate angrily.

“I can smell that fish,” Usopp muttered under his breath, reaching for his glass. “It's so gross, ever since that day I caught him eating in the pool.” He gave a visible shudder and cringed. “Disgusting.”

Zoro chuckled, waving his fork and grinning. “That was great. I wish I could have seen the look on your face. I'm still trying to figure out how to get you to make that noise again!”

“Like a fucking otter...just lounging on his back chewing on a raw fish...” He trailed off, shuddering again and looking down to his salad.

“Raw?” Sanji interjected, scrunching up his nose in distaste.

“Flicking my little tail and everything.” Barking out another laugh, the blind man leaned his arm on the table and took another bite. “It's the sound.” He waved his fork in a loose circle in the air before Perona quietly grabbed his wrist and forced it to the table. “I like to rip their heads off and listen to the skulls crack in my teeth.” He spoke while he chewed, slight bob to his head the whole time. To say Sanji was distressed by the entire conversation would be an understatement, especially with Perona and Robin sitting right there! That was no way to talk with ladies around! What in the hell was wrong with these people!

Perona was ignoring everyone still, easting her food quietly and Robin, she didn't seem to care in the slightest though as she smiled slyly. “Like lambs to the slaughter.”

“That's so gross...” Law shook his head. “Even for me-ya.”

“Poor fish.” Perona murmured next to Sanji. “That's no way to die, having your head ripped off.” The cook's attention swung to her as she spoke. He really couldn't believe they were having this conversation! And at the table!

Sanji watched at the gardener practically turned green and pushed his plate away. “Enough, Robin! All of you! Every time you talk about it, I just get reminded of my family. All I can hear is the...” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Ever since then I can't handle meat...the smell...do you have any idea what it was like?!”

“I should have been there.” Zoro's sudden growl and slammed fist on the table caused everyone to jump. His eyebrows lowered as if he was remembering some point in time, his typical scowl deepening even further, upset with himself at something he obviously didn't get to do.

“It's not your fault,” Usopp spoke quietly, eyes flicking to the pink haired girl next to Sanji. The cook saw her place a hand on Zoro's arm, gripping at it tightly and he swung his face towards her. “You had other things you were taking care of.”

“It's my job Usopp,” Zoro spat out, ripping his arm from Perona's hold and running a hand through his hair.

“Was...” Perona started, but stopped as another growl left the blind man. He seemed overly upset suddenly as the pink haired girl's hands fell to her lap and she looked away to some spot behind the table. “Okay, don't get worked up.”

“Too late!” He flung an arm in the air, biting out the words as he spoke. “I should have been there! It was all connected anyways.” He growled again, something feral and the sound sent chills down the chef's spine. He had never heard a sound like that come from any one before and a quick glance around proved that the rest of the table hadn't heard it either. They had all stilled, eyes downcast at the table as the blind man went on his silent rampage.

“How were we supposed to know that?” Perona's eyes filled with tears as her lip started quivering and Sanji, completely shocked at what was going on around him, reached out to take hold of her hand, glaring at the green haired man. He didn't care if he could see it or not, there was no need to make the girl cry.

“If I recall, Zoro-ya,” Law spoke up, turning from the sick looking Usopp, to the fuming man, eyebrows furrowing from under his hat. “I was elbow deep in your chest at the time.”

“Don't remind me Law!” Zoro snapped, swinging his head towards the sound of the doctor's voice, slamming his fist on the table once more. Sanji jumped in his seat, along with everyone else. Perona's hand gripped tightly to his own momentarily.

“You did all you could...” Perona placed a hand on Zoro's arm again, but he merely grunted at her, casting his would be gaze to the side and sighing through his nose.

“It wasn't enough.” He snarled moodily, crossing his arms, but letting the girl's hand linger on his arm.

Robin, who had remained quiet after her sheep comment, cleared her throat, setting her glass down and folding her hands in her lap. “There is still the matter of Sanji's test results to discuss.”

“Yeah, speaking of him...why'd you cook this fish?” With a snort, Zoro turned towards his side of the table. “What color's his hair?”

“I don't see what my hair has to do with anything here.” Sanji frowned, speaking quietly. Was everyone around here able to just flip switches to turn of and off their emotions? And what in the hell were they talking about?! Usopp's family got killed? And it involved Zoro? Next to him, Perona sniffled, wiping a hand across her eyes as she pulled her hand from his. “And why wouldn't I cook it? It's fish, you don't eat raw fish unless it's sushi and that's a very particular type of cut.”

“I eat raw fish all the time!” Zoro thumped a fist to his chest. “I'm fine. Look at me!”

“You're an idiot.” Usopp muttered, going back to his salad as he shook his head.

“Sanji's blond!” Perona added helpfully, smiling around the watery trails running over her cheeks. “Pretty cute too!”

“Blond?! That explains everything! Oh man, that's too good! No wonder he got out smarted by a sheep!”

Zoro's laughter was drowned out by the scrape of the curly haired man's chair as he stood, pointing at Sanji. His glared at the blond as he practically shrieked. “You are the one who scared Merry?!”

“Your damned sheep was in my kitchen!” Sanji jumped up as well, slamming his hands onto the table top, rattling all the glasses. “Do you have any idea how unsanitary that is?! I prepare food in there! The same food you're stuffing in your yap right now!”

“Gentlemen, please,” Robin spoke up again, crossing her arms over her chest as she shot a glare to everyone about her. Zoro leaned back in Mihawk's large chair snickering to himself as Perona leaned forwards in hers to let Robin know she was listening. Usopp made some indignant noise before he dropped down into his chair, crossing his arms with a huff. Law pushed his plate away, frowning from under his hat.

“Sit down blondie,” The blind man spoke with a smirk on his face, scrunching the bottom of the scar on his cheek. “Robin has shit we need to discuss. Enough of the distractions.”

“You started it!” Sanji snapped as he dropped into the chair. “And I have a name, for the last time you dim witted shitty bastard!”

“I will have you know I am highly intelligent. I just choose not to show it as to not make you look quite as stupid as you really are.” Zoro squared his shoulders slightly, adapting a self important pose as he swung his head about the room.

“Oh here we go again-ya.” Law rolled his eyes, turning towards the librarian. “I would like to know what my tests results said Robin-ya.”

“Yep, okay,” Zoro clapped his hands together before dropping them to his lap. “Play time's over. What'd they say?”

Sanji shook his head and rolled his eyes, turning his attention towards Robin. “Indeed,” she said calmly, pinning a glare at the man at the head of the table. Not that the blind bastard could see her or anything as he sat with his smug grin on his face, fingers messing with the sash around his waist. The cook was so glad he had put clothes back on. He was having a hard enough time getting those images of him naked out at the pool out of his head to begin with, he didn't need to relive them. “Yes,” The historian nodded simply.

“Yes?” Came the collective reply, all accept for Law, who turned his gaze to Sanji, flicking his gray eyes to the chef's wide blue from under his hat. Zoro gave a snort as Perona squeaked happily, grasping onto the blond man's arm again.

“Interesting,” The doctor remarked, tapping his fingers on the table top. “So he can see huh?”

“See what?” Sanji asked, glancing from one person to the other, finally settling back on Robin. He shifted his gaze to Zoro though as the man spoke.

His voice had dropped slightly, taking on the more serious tone he had heard once before as he stared unseeing down the long table, the white eye looking as if it were focused on the door at the far side of the room. His hands stilled in his lap, as he titled his head down and to the side slightly, gripping at the red fabric. He looked almost nervous, something Sanji didn't think the man was capable of as he blinked and shifted his head ever so slightly towards the side of the table where the chef sat. “If you look closely at me or Usopp...what do you see Cook?”

“I see you and Usopp,” Sanji frowned, speaking instantly, not understanding what the point of the question was. Or why a simple yes seemed to cause such a buzz about the table.

“He will have to be trained,” Robin spoke up. “Like Law was.”

Zoro stood suddenly, yanking Perona to her feet. Sanji was about to snap at him, tell him he was not going to treat her like that in his presence, when he spoke again. “Not until Mihawk's back. Perona, we need to talk. Come on.” He tugged on her arm again, but the pink haired girl took over, pulling her hand from his grasp and lacing her arms around his. He let her lead him through the kitchen doors and the two were gone, some unspoken destination they both must have known about.

Law left the room just as quickly, muttering to himself about his work and having to write something in Sanji's new medical file he was compiling. The dark haired woman excused herself and left the room quietly, leaving Sanji to run a hand through his hair with a sigh. This entire encounter, like all the others, was simply overwhelming. “D-do you really not see?” Usopp asked after a minute of quiet. To be honest, Sanji had forgotten the man was sitting there with him still.

“I honestly have no idea what that even means.” The blond frowned, standing and beginning to gather up the plates on the table. With a nod, the gardener stood, helping quietly as the two cleared the table. Again, the help was welcomed and with how drained Sanji felt suddenly, he wasn't going to tell the man no. Living here and being around all the sudden and shifting emotions was going to take some getting used to.

Setting the last plate down, the dark haired man looked over to Sanji, his brown eyes wide and hopeful. “Just...just try. I have been told it can take some time to develop, but try to see the truth, not what you want to see.” And he walked off, the dinning room door closing behind him with a soft click.

What the hell did that mean? Sanji watched the closed door for a minute, brow knitted in confusion at the gardener's strange words. He had no idea what that could even mean. Had no idea where to even start with what it could mean. Try to see? See what? He had perfect vision, had his entire life!

Everyone had reacted so strangely to him being able to see...whatever that meant. Pushing the cart into the kitchen, he headed for the dishwasher, stacking the plates and cups in the tray and making sure everything was the way it needed to be before heading outback for a cigarette. Sanji dropped into the metal chair with a groan, running a hand through his hair as he fished out his lighter. Clean up was well on its way now, giving him the three minutes of quiet he desperately needed to kick his nicotine craving in the ass. He also needed to stop thinking about that damned blind bastard! There was no rhyme or reason to anything he said or did, most of the people here just shrugging off anything the man did and it was pissing him off to no end. The first pure blissful drag was ruined when around the corner came Zoro, green-haired asshole himself, scratching at his hair as he grasped a hold of the vine covered archway. “Cook?” He asked, wrinkling his nose as the smoke drifting lazily about.

The blond leaned on the table with his elbow, temple resting on his closed fist. Rolling his eyes, Sanji took a deep breath. “Yeah?”

The blind man grunted and nodded, stepping fully around the corner and crossing his arms over his bare chest. The cook was relieved to see he still had at least put pants on, but the black fabric was wet again, clinging to his hips and thighs, as if he had jumped in the pool with them on. The blind man spoke as he toyed with a rock under his toes. “Go get me a...ugh, what's it called?”

“I have no idea moss head,” Sanji scowled as he puffed at his cigarette. Like hell he was going to take orders from this man, blind or not, fuck him. He could take this whole confusing seeing crap and shove it up his ass as far as Sanji was concerned. An image of that perfect ass, naked and being hauled from the pool crossed his eyes and Sanji snapped them closed and shook his head.

There was a small chuckle. “That's a good one. No seriously, I need a bowl, but its not called a bowl and it's taller, and thinner.” Sanji watched as the man moved his hands as he spoke, trying to shape out what he was failing to really describe. “Flowers.” He said pointedly, hands smacking loudly off his legs, as if that would put everything together.

“A vase?” The blond asked as he sucked another drag off his cigarette. “Why do you need a vase?”

“Yes; get me one.” With a sharp nod, he went to turn, pausing as he looked back over his shoulder, the one open eye shaded from the over hanging greenery, giving the white a slight gray hue. “Bring it out to the pool.”

“What am I? You're fucking maid? Wait here and take it yourself!” Sanji snapped, rising to his feet as he snuffed his half smoked butt on his shoe.

“I'm busy.” And he was gone, leaving Sanji to stare open mouthed at the entrance way. His hands hit his thighs in annoyance as the chef turned and reentered the kitchen, throwing open the door and grumbling under his breath. The dishwasher dinged that it was done its cycle, but the chef ignored it as he banged around, till he found a small rounded thin glass.

It kind of resembled a poorly made fishbowl, but it would have to do for the shit headed blind man and he stomped back out of the kitchen towards the pool, grinding rocks under his shoes the entire time. He opened his mouth to take a deep breath, to yell out to the annoying bastard when he rounded the edge of the hedged door and his insult died on his tongue.

Perona was still there, feet kicking lightly in the water on the far edge of the pool. Zoro was standing in the water, the water lapping lazily against his stomach as he moved his arms and the girl kept kicking her feet. Despite the tear stains the blond could see from the sun on her face, she was smiling and laughing at whatever it was the brute of a moron was saying to her. Sanji watched quietly as she nodded and Zoro disappeared under the surface of the water, reappearing a moment later with something cupped in one hand, small trails of water running through his loosely closed fingers.

Perona's eyes lit up and she reached a hand out, fingering whatever it was in the man's hand. Stepping onto the cement, he saw Zoro's shoulders tense slightly as he turned his head towards the noise. The pink haired girl moved her hand from his to the broad tanned shoulder, mumbled something and he relaxed, a grin spreading over his face. “You get the vase Cook?”

“Yes,” Sanji crouched down next to Perona, who snatched it away and dunked it in the water, filling it most of the way, before grabbing at Zoro's free hand and placing it in his hands. The small item cupped in his first hand was dumped into the water as Sanji raised an eyebrow at it. “What is it?” he asked, craning his neck to peer over the lip of the small glass bowl.

“Moss,” Perona beamed at him, then sloshed the water around a little as the bowl was handed back to her. “Isn't it cute!”

“Adorable,” Sanji muttered as his attention snapped up to Zoro, who was staring unseeing in their direction, just listening to them talk. He had a small contented smile on his face, just a small upturn at the corner of his lips, hands resting on the top of the water.

The blond studied the man in front of him for a moment. What was he supposed to be seeing here anyways? The blinded man was just as normal as any other once you got past the green hair, white eye and scars. The one that slashed through his eye was long and thin, not raised like the other ones. It crossed the chef's mind if whatever managed to make such a clean cut over the eye had taken it as well. He had seen it once before, what happens when an eye gets punctured. He suppressed a shudder at the thought of it. It must have hurt terribly.

The one that raked through his cheek was jagged and deep looking, as was the one that bit into his lower lip. It actually reminded Sanji a bit like claw marks, something swiping at the man and managed to catch him off guard. His eyes trailed down his chest, falling on the long scar across it as the man reached up to scratch at it, small drops of water littering his tanned skin. Law had mentioned patching up such a horrible wound. Could those and his facial scars all be connected?

“It comes from our homeland,” Zoro's deep scruffy voice punctured Sanji thoughts and he flicked his eyes back up to the white eye as it seemed to shift from Perona to himself. “They are called Marimo Cook.”

“Marimo?” Sanji repeated quietly, rolling the unfamiliar word across his tongue as he keep his gaze on the white eye. It looked like it had a gold tint to it now that he was closer, but it could have just been the run reflecting off the water as well. “Like your head.”

Perona snorted next to him and the small smile turned into a deep scowl as he swung an arm, splashing water across them both before falling back into it and laughing loudly as both the blond and pink haired girl's screamed. Wiping water from his face, Sanji glared at the man, who was now lounging on his back in the middle of the pool, kinda like an otter as the gardener had mentioned during lunch. “Zoro!” Perona snapped next to him, climbing to her feet and stomping one bare foot in a puddle. “That's not nice!”

“I do  _ not _ look like a marimo, Perona,” the man barked out and rolled in the water, ducking under it. Little bubbles gave away his position, but as Sanji stood he began to grow slightly concerned that he hadn't surfaced yet.

“Is he okay?” Turning to the girl as she slipped her ear buds back into her ears, she nodded. Picking up her little vase with the marimo in it, she padded away without looking back, not caring that the blind man hadn't come up for air yet. With a frown, Sanji stood and watched, damning the sun for setting a glare across the water and not allowing him to see very well into the dark pool.

“Well, come on,” Perona's head popped back around the hedge. “He's not gonna come up for a while, he's sulking. Just best to leave him alone.”

With a dumb nod, the blond turned, half eying the pool as he walked to where the girl was standing. “How long can he stay down there? That's not humanly possible.”

“Yep.” Popping the “p” in the word, the weird girl nodded, hugging her vase close and walked away.

 


	6. Book One: Emerald

Sanji lay awake in his bed, staring at the darkened ceiling trying to figure out just what in the fuck kind of place he had gotten himself into! Since lunch a couple days before all everyone was talking about was this sight thing. What exactly that meant, though, no one was bothering to explain. He had asked Zoro when he had caught the green haired bastard in the wine cellar again, but he had simply snorted, dismissing him as he had the first time they met, threatening to break him the same way he had broken the lock on the door if the blond got a new one.

What the blind man used to break the lock off the wall still eluded him and how he had managed to find it as well. The entire thing had been ripped out, screws and all; Sanji finding it in the middle of one of his prep tables the following morning. The lock didn't look damaged, but the wall most certainly had seen better days. The chef had also received a smack up side the head from Franky when the grounds keeper came to repair the door frame, scolding him for even thinking of putting a lock on the wine cellar door.

“What's so damned important about the cellar?” He had barked out, slamming pans about the stove as he prepped an early dinner.

“Just leave it alone and leave the door open.” Franky replied, frowning with a shake of his head. “Dude, you really messed up this door.”

“I didn't touch it! Zoro did!” Slamming the screen door behind him, Sanji dropped into a chair, grabbing his smokes off the table and grinding the butt between his teeth. His next stop had been the library, but Robin had been no where to be seen and her damned birds were less than happy to see him poking his head through the door, cawing and flying at him till he slammed the heavy door shut and returned, brooding to his kitchen.

Law had been less than helpful as well, simply rolling his eyes and slamming his office door in his face. Sanji kicked at it in a bout of rage, getting a barked reply to 'fuck off-ya' for his effort from the other side. The only one who was of any help had been Usopp, but he had been acting strangely towards him ever since the lunch that it was first revealed he could see.

Upon returning from the pool shortly before he came to lay awake in his bed, grumbling about how Zoro never seemed to bring the dishes he took out there back, Usopp had sprang onto the path in front of him, startling Sanji and he almost dropped the glasses he was holding. “Have you gotten anywhere?” The curly haired man asked enthusiastically, bouncing on his toes with a wide grin. He gave no hint as to what he could have possible been talking about, even though Sanji was pretty sure he already knew.

“No,” he replied, raising an eyebrow as he glanced curiously up and down the strange gardener's form. “I don't know what I am supposed to be seeing. This is all very confusing.”

“You should see me.” Fingers splayed, Usopp pressed the hand against his bare chest, puffing it out slightly. His wide grin was infectious and Sanji couldn't help the small chuckle through his frown.

“I do see you Usopp.” This was getting him no where as well. Despite all his help, Usopp was holding firm to Zoro telling everyone to not explain this sight thing till Master Mihawk returned, which just annoyed Sanji to no end. How was he supposed to learn something that no one was instructing him on?

Rolling to his side in a huff, Sanji closed his eyes and tried to think back about what it was exactly Zoro had said at lunch. It had been entirely vague, that was for sure and he hadn't gotten any new details since. See what? He could see plain as day the people he was looking at. What was he missing?

There was a loud knock on his door, and with a growl Sanji got up, throwing it open to reveal a just as pissed off Law, frowning at him in his leopard print sweat pants. The first thing that caught the blond's attention were the elaborate tattoos across his chest and arms before the doctor cleared his throat, scowling when Sanji's eyes met his. “Master Mihawk is home-ya.”

“So?”

“He's called a meeting. Let's go.” And the brooding doctor turned and left, padding quietly barefoot down the hall, stopping at another door and knocking on that as well. Ducking back into his room to grab a T-shirt, Sanji closed his door behind him, walking silently on the padded carpet along with Law and a sleepy looking Usopp.

Together the three made their way to the library, the doctor slipping through the cracked door first, running a hand through his messy bed head as he sighed and rubbed at his eyes. Robin was standing behind her desk with a large book open upon it, frowning darkly at the worn and yellowing pages. Franky was sitting in her desk chair, arms draped over the sides as he slouched in it, spinning slightly with his foot. The large man looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept yet either.

Zoro was seated cross legged in the middle of the floor, hands on his knees, Perona leaning sleepily against him, hugging a ratty looking stuffed bear tightly. Usopp flopped down in one of the chairs, yawning loudly and stretching his arms over his head. As everyone settled down in chairs and spots on the floor, the yellow eyed man looked to each in turn before his gaze landed on Zoro and took a deep breath. “Miss Nico informs me that Sanji can see? Is this correct?”

The blind man simply grunted with a nod, his sightless gaze shifted towards the ground as he cocked his head to the side to listen. “That's what the doc's paperwork says. He can't though.”

“We will train him,” Robin spoke up. “I have been thinking about how to do so the last couple days. It shouldn't take all that long.”

“Very well,” Mihawk took another breath, his eyes never leaving Zoro this entire time. Sanji shifted in his seat he had taken, finding the whole encounter bizarre. Why was Mihawk so focused on the blind drunk bastard anyways? “Zoro are you listening to me?”

“Yes,” he heaved an annoyed sigh and the blond could just picture him rolling his eyes. “Where'd you go anyways? I know you just disappear at times, but no one would tell me anything when I asked.”

The tension that stiffened the air could be felt instantly and the blind man could sense it too as his gaze swung about the small half circle room from his spot on the floor. He shifted in his spot slightly, much to Perona's dislike, the tails of his green overcoat splayed behind him, the red sash pooled by his hip. “What happened?” He asked lowly, the edge of a growl in his voice.

Mihawk was quiet a moment, looking as if he were gathering his thoughts before speaking, and even Sanji felt bad for the blind man as panic seemed to strike him. His head whipped about, hand grasping a hold of Perona's tightly. “Mihawk, you better answer me!”

Sanji paused at that, casting his eyes from the man on the floor to the man who owned this place. That had been the second time the blind man had not called his boss Master Mihawk and this time to his face. “I got a call from Sabo,” The Manor Master started, voice low as his eyes watched Zoro for any reaction he gave. The green haired man sucked in a sharp breath, sitting straight up and squaring his shoulders. “About Ruby.”

“Ace?! What about him?! Is he okay?!” Zoro fell back into a panic, voice high and sharp as the others around him remained calm. Sanji glanced about, each person with hard neutral expressions as they listened to the blind man's rage. They knew the name and Sanji quickly put together that Ruby and Ace were at least connected somehow, whatever that meant.

“Zoro,” Mihawk said again, the sound of the name harsh and firm from his mouth. He lowered his eyebrows, refusing to say more till the blind man settled down slightly, listening to Perona as she spoke quietly to him. His white eye was wide as he stared straight ahead at the desk where Robin frowned at her book, taking up a pen and poising to write whatever it was that their Master said next.

“Just tell me.” The man snapped, body tense and shaking slightly.

“He's dead.”

The collective cry of 'what' from the room echoed off the shelving. Zoro stood, rising to his bare feet faster than Sanji had ever seen, throwing Perona aside and stalking from the room. He slammed a fist against the door as he left and the pink haired girl jumped up to follow him, calling his name to which he ignored.

“Let him be Perona.” The yellow-eyed man sighed, keeping his voice calm.

“What happened?” Robin asked, picking her pen back up from where she dropped it. She scribbled something down in the large book as the questions began to flood in from the others.

“Is Luffy okay?” Perona asked quietly, hugging her bear tightly. “I really should go find Zoro. He could get hurt it he's not careful.”

“Very well,” Mihawk nodded. “Luffy's not fine at all though. He's taking this very hard.”

“Koala didn't send me word.” The librarian frowned, tapping the pen against the book. “This is something I should have known when you left.”

“Sabo didn't tell me over the phone either. I knew just as much as you did when I left. He told me it was important and I needed to get there right away.” Turning towards Robin, Mihawk took a deep breath. “Once I arrived, I asked her to not send word. This was something I wanted to handle personally. How do you think he would have reacted had he heard it from Brook or Nami?”

“Wh—What killed him?” Usopp stuttered from his chair. Everyone turned to him and he shrunk back into the plush item. “I mean, something had to of killed him right? He's not that much older than Zoro.”

“They are not sure. We think it was Onyx.”

“The Hydra?!” Law hissed out, eyes widening. “No one has seen him for years-ya!”

“Not since Zoro's attack, no.” Franky spoke from his chair. Robin glanced to him over her shoulder, before closing the large book and padding it gently. “So that leaves, what? Two?”

“Yes.” Mihawk nodded firmly, eyes coming to rest on Sanji. “You will train him now. If he can truly see, than he needs to learn. He needs to be able to distinguish the truth from the mirage. Robin, I leave this up to you.” Standing, he walked towards the door, placing a hand on it and frowning at the cracks that spidered through it from Zoro's punch to the hard wood. “I am going to find Perona and Zoro.”

He was gone without another word, leaving the others in the stillness of the library. “My family...” Usopp muttered under his breath before taking a deep inhale, holding it for a moment before letting it out shakily. “I can't believe he's back.”

“It makes sense-ya. We didn't kill him before, just scared him off.” Law sat forwards, folding his hands together as he rested his forearms on his knees. “Do you think he knows Zoro-ya is blind now?”

“Let's hope not.” The historian spoke coldly. “But he may. We must all keep a close eye out from now on. If he got to Ace this easily, no telling what Onyx is capable of.”

With a grunt, Law stood, leaving the room, padding quietly as he scratched at his head again. Usopp bolted as well, tears in the corners of his eyes as he called after the moody doctor. Sanji stood as well, but stepped closer to the desk. His eyes fell to the book on the table, the deep red leather just as cracked and faded as the book from before, the word  _ Portgas _ in the same gold script. “Well babe,” Franky stood, stretching his arms over his head. “I haven't slept yet. See ya in the morning.” With a quick peck to the cheek, the large blue haired man was leaving as well, the cook shuddering internally at the fact he still had no pants on.

Sanji's eyes fell back to the book. He had so many questions. Who was Ace? What did it have to do with this book? What was Portgas? How did it all connect to Zoro and why was everyone so up in arms about something called Onyx? Opening his mouth to speak, the historian sat in her chair and threaded her fingers together, cutting him off. “Sit, Sanji, please.”

Wordlessly, he pulled one of the chairs over, dropping back down into it with a huff. Crossing his arms over his chest, the blond chef waited for Robin to continue speaking. “The sight,” She started, choosing her words carefully as she spoke. “It's something only certain people have.”

“And I have it?” The blond mused. “How can you even tell?”

“Law has a special test he puts the blood through. People with special....qualities to their blood appear different under the test samples than those that do not.”

“And what are these qualities? I'm getting real sick of the secrets around here my dear. All everyone does is tiptoe around what they want to say and leave out vital information! How am I supposed to learn anything about this sight shit if I don't even know what it is!” Sanji kept his tone low and flat, letting the sarcasm show that he was not amused by their performance in the slightest. “I would like some answers personally.”

“Of course,” With a slight nod, Robin seemed to agree. “What is it that troubles you?”

“Zoro, for starters. What's with that bastard? Why is everyone so protective of him? Is it because he's blind? How did he get like that in the first place? And why does he treat Perona so harshly?!”

“Those I can not answer. You will have to talk to Zoro about that. I'm sure once you are able to see him as he truly is, he will trust you more. He's always been like that. Very leery of everyone till they can prove their worth.” She smiled coyly at him, answering him, yet not answering him just the same.

“Who's Ace?” He barked out, his tone a bit more demanding than Sanji would have liked when dealing with a lady, but dammit he was tired and pissed off. “And this book.”

“Ace was someone very important and close to Zoro. His death is a great loss. This book was his.”

“So his last name was Portgas?”

“Something like that.” The smile remained and she again took a deep breath. “Not everyone needs to learn to use the sight. I, myself, was raised knowing what it was and how to use it. Same as Perona and Master Mihawk. Others, like Law, Franky and yourself need to be taught.”

“Again, my dear Robin: how?”

“Everything you know is a lie.” She stated, lowering her eyebrows at Sanji in a glare. “Go beyond what you have been taught by society. What you have been tricked into believing and think for yourself. People are not as they always appear to be.”

“Usopp keeps telling me to see him, but I do see him. He's just a goofy gardener with a pet sheep. And Zoro, what am I supposed to be seeing? I don't understand at all.” With a sigh, Sanji watched as Robin stood, walking ever so gracefully across the library. She came to stand in front of a low book shelf, fingers of one hand skimming the books till she paused and pulled a small one out. It was black and simple enough, no words or any type of identification on it to let the librarian know she even had the right book.

Sitting back in her chair, she slid the book across the large desk to the blond, who leaned forwards to take it carefully. “Read that. Once you are finished, we shall begin.”

Sanji flipped through it quickly, frowning at the small script before returning to the first blank and slightly yellowed page. It felt old, the book did, something telling Sanji he needed to use extra care with this particular volume of knowledge. With light fingers, he turned the page, casting a glance up to Robin after reading the single word. She smiled knowingly, pointing back down to the book with a long delicate finger. The chef was glad he was a quick reader. He had a feeling there was a lot he was going to have to take in as he looked back down to the apparent title of the book.

_ Myth. _

 


	7. Book One: Emerald

_ Legends tell of four brothers. They were each represented by the four directions and granted power over an element. First there was the eldest brother, Western Blue, granted the power of air. The middle brothers: Northern Red, granted the power of fire and Southern Green, granted the power of water. Lastly, was the youngest, Eastern Yellow, who was granted the power of the earth. _

_ For generations the four brothers, cohabitating quietly, worked together to keep the world at peace. But after a time, seeing how his older brothers' powers grew, the youngest grew bitter. Western Blue had the powers to call upon the winds, turn a hot stale day cool or bring in rains where they were needed. The second youngest, Southern Green had the powers to create those rains, kept the rivers from running dry, ensuring the peoples of the world did not go without food or grow thirsty. Northern Red gave them warmth and light with his mystical fires, turned quiet mountains into raging volcanoes that expanded the lands all around. What did that leave for him, Eastern Yellow wondered. _

_ A darkness soon began to grow inside his heart, eating away at him and consuming him. The lands began to shake under his rage, ripping and quaking, destroying towns and the quiet lives people had made. His brothers came to him, one by one, at first, asking him to stop, to turn back before his hatred consumed him and turned him to something he was not. _

_ But Eastern Yellow, once as bright as the sun himself, would not listen and slowly fell into shadow, consumed wholly by his contempt and malice. His brothers and the peoples of the world mourned their loss, the lands never quite the same without him, but they carried on. Never did the three eldest forget their little brother, but they did not dwell on him either. They could not, not with the world looking to them on how to handle the loss. _

_ Many more years passed, each of the three remaining brothers growing in strength. The three brothers took on new names as well, names the people gave them,changing and molding with the times. They bore them proudly; excited that they had not been forgotten by the peoples after such a long time. Yet saddened by their youngest brother not being able to join in with them during this time of great joy. _

Sanji rolled his eyes. This book had to be the most boring thing he had ever come across. It told him nothing of how he needed to learn this sight bullshit. All it did was talk about these four messed up brothers. He was glad he was an only child.

The morning was warm, the birds were singing, somewhere off in the garden he could hear Merry call out and Usopp answer her. There was a splash from Franky by the pool as well. So was this what a quiet normal morning looked like around here? Not that it was really normal. Perona had said over breakfast that the blind jerk had spent the whole night in the pool, sulking at the loss of Ace.

No one would explain further than that to him and Sanji was once again finding himself slamming his new kitchen equipment around during clean up. “Read the book,” they kept saying. “The book will help.”

“Bull. Shit!” Flipping through the pages with another sigh, Sanji stopped upon catching a name. Flipping back to the page, he slammed it shut, jumping to his feet and turning for the kitchen. This was now the third time he had seen that name. Why was it so damned important?!  _ Roronoa. _ What did it mean? First the locked room in the cellar, then on the cover of the book in the library and now in this book. Tromping down the cellar stairs, rattling the wooden frame as he went, Sanji was quite surprised to see Zoro closing the very door he had come to investigate. “What are you doing?” He snapped at the man, glaring at him for no other reason than the fact that he was present.

“Minding my own business Cook. What are you doing?” The man snapped back. His eyebrows lowered as he tilted his head forwards slightly at Sanji.

“I want answers. What's Roronoa mean?” Crossing his arms, the blond stood feet shoulder length apart, standing across from the other man.

Zoro stiffened at that. His whole body jerking upright, as his face slipped into a neutral expression besides his one eye going wide. The two men had a sort of stare off, if one could really call it that with a blind man, as Sanji searched his face for some sort of other reaction. After a moment, the green haired man snorted, jerking his head back, shouldering passed Sanji and making his way up the stairs. “That's not an answer Zoro!” Sanji yelled after him, gripping tightly at the support beam at the base of the stairs.

The man paused at the top of the stairs, his left hand gripping onto the rail tightly. Looking over his right shoulder towards him, Sanji couldn't help but land his gaze on that white eye as the man growled out the words, the tone deep and dangerous. “Don't call me that again.” And he was gone before what he had actually said fully registered with the chef.

With a growl, and still no answers, Sanji spun on his heel, grabbing at the doorknob and rattling it harshly when he found it was locked. Zoro could get in and out of this Roronoa room, why couldn't he? What the hell was so important about a damned room anyways?

Jumping back up the stairs, he returned to the patio in a huff, dropping into the chair and grabbing the book off the table. He stared angrily at the blank cover for a moment when Zoro's words finally sank in. He had said not to  _ call _ him that again. Was that his name?! Why didn't anyone call him that is that was his name?!

The library.

Book in hand, Sanji made his way towards the library, opening the door, stopping short when he saw Robin sitting behind the large desk quietly. She looked up to him, slightly shocked, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. “Finished reading that already?”

“No,” Sanji grit his teeth for barking out the word at her and took a deep breath, slapping the book against his leg in his hand. “I found a name though. I wanted some answers on it. What's Zoro's connection to Roronoa? I just ran into him and he told me not to call him that!”

Robin stood instantly, circling the desk and walking silently on her heels up to the chef. “You called Zoro...Roronoa?” The slight pause and the raise of the eyebrow from the historian flustered the blond.

“Well no, I asked him what it was. He said not to call him that. Got all weird and shit before he stormed off somewhere. What's that room about also?”

The historian clicked her tongue and frowned at him, her eyes hard as she snatched the book away. She flipped through it, opening it to about half way through it and turned it around to show him. Sanji glanced down at the words, skimming quickly over more useless crap on those four brothers. Taking the book again, he pinned the page with a finger before dropping into a chair and running a hand through his hair.

Closing his eyes and gripping at his own hair, Sanji spoke calmly, each word spoken slowly as to try to not lose his temper with the woman again. “I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, Robin. What am I going to learn from reading this book?”

A loud caw and the flutter of wings sounded as the clack of nails landed on the desk. Robin turned to her pet, as Sanji snapped his head up, glaring at the beady black eyes of Nami as she pecked lightly at her master's hand with another loud caw. The librarian ignored the bird's bite, moving to pick up the small piece of paper she had brought. “Thank you Nami,” Running a hand down the bird's sleek inky plumage she turned back to Sanji as the bird called out once more and flew away. “You are going to learn a very important history.”

“A legend. A fable! The  _ title _ implies that what I am reading isn't real.” Sanji glanced up to meet the woman's cold eyes once more. “I will finish this, but I still want answers!”

“All in due time Sanji.” Walking past him, Robin paused to open the note, humming to herself. “You may yet change your opinion on such matters. I must be going now. Please, feel free to sit here and read.”

“Thank you,” Sanji glanced up to the desk, noticing the time and frowning slightly. “I must be getting ready to prepare lunch for everyone.”

“Suit yourself.” Slipping out of the door, Robin disappeared, much like everyone else in this damned house and Sanji got up, taking note of the page and making his way back to the kitchen. He only half payed attention to what he was doing while he cooked. The motions of prep and serving being more of reflex than anything else at this point.

He just couldn't get all this out of his head. Robin was implying the story of the four brothers was real. Both the blind bastard and the librarian had seemed spooked when he spoke the name Roronoa, Zoro especially. What was the big deal about it anyways? It was becoming more and more clear that it most certainly wasn't a wine of any sort, but something else. Something they really didn't want him to be saying out loud.

As they sat about the table, Master Mihawk announced that most of them would be going out that night, some sort of meeting to attend about his work, allowing Sanji to take the night off from cooking. This suited the blond just fine as he had some research of his own he planned on doing.

Slipping back into the library, Sanji found the two bizarre ravens fast asleep, huddled against one another on a perch in the corner. He breathed out a sigh of relief before finding the shelf Robin had removed the Roronoa book from with his eyes and quietly moving towards it.

His dress shoes sunk into the thick carpets, even as he climbed the stairs and switched on the small lamp, turning to the row of shelves and crossing his arms. The rest of that little black book hadn't told him much, some of the pages had been torn out and the only mention of Roronoa had been that it was a name given by the peoples.

Instantly his eyes fell on both the green leather and the red leather of the aged books and carefully the blond pulled the red book down. The golden script shown dully in the lamp light and finding the page marker, Sanji opened it, flicking his attention to the large sleeping birds as he did so. Robin's elegant script was at the top of the left page.  _ Ace has been slain by The Hydra. _

The chef frowned. This told him nothing he didn't already know. Slamming the book shut, he stilled as the birds shuffled, startled in their sleep and he muttered a curse under his breath for his carelessness. The last thing he wanted was those birds telling Robin he had been in here. He didn't know how she did it, but the historian could talk to them or something and Sanji didn't need them telling her he had been in here snooping around.

Portgas.

That name had been mentioned as well as a few he hadn't heard before. Sliding the book back, he pulled the green leather one, grunting under the heavy weight and settling it down on the table quietly.  _ Roronoa. _ Now he was going to get some answers. Opening it to the marker page, Sanji read the first entry on the left page. It was dated several months before hand, large flowing script, but different from the dark haired woman's.

It spoke of how Zoro was getting better with each passing day, the wounds to his chest and eyes fully healed. Commented on how Law says he will make a full and complete recovery despite being blinded in the attack by this Hydra. Detailed how he was adapting to his new surroundings, had taken over the pool for his own and that work on the room in the cellar was almost complete.

The room in the cellar.

Again it all came back to that damned room in the wine cellar! As he returned that book as well, and still feeling as if he had gotten no where, Sanji vowed to get into that room. Tonight. Right now, while everyone was gone.

Well mostly everyone, he honestly wasn't sure who was left here, not that it really mattered anyways, no one really bothered him in the kitchen besides Zoro and he had questions that bastard was going to answer the next time he saw him. Whether he liked it or not.

The trip back to the kitchen was becoming more and more familiar, taking no time at all as he flicked on some of the lights to the open room before making his way to the once again open door of the wine cellar. Sanji was also not surprised to see the lights of the cellar on. In fact this delighted him greatly, meant most likely that the blind bastard was down here somewhere and he was going to corner him to get his answers. There would be no running for Zoro this time!

When Sanji's feet hit the dirt, he stopped, honestly taken aback at the fact the door to the one room he hadn't been allowed into was cracked open. A dim light seemed to be on inside the unfamiliar room and with a deep breath, the chef mentally psyched himself up for what he was about to do.

Pressing a hand against the door, the worn wood rough under his fingers, Sanji pushed it open the rest of the way, trying to curve his neck around the door as it opened. The first thing that caught his attention was that it was just another wine cellar. The same bricked walls like all the others, only there were no racks and only a few empty glass bottles littering the floor. The blond toed one with a frown as he peered around the rest of the room.

His eyes instantly fell upon the back wall, or better yet, the lack of a back wall. The bricks appeared to have been smashed and hauled away, leaving a large black gaping maw of a hole there. What appeared to be claw marks scraped along the edge as if something from with in used the wall as leverage to climb out of whatever lay beyond.

The marks fell away however, the need to instantly explore beyond the strange portal taking a back seat as Sanji's eyes fell to the table near the hole on the side wall. The table itself wasn't much to look at, just some grayed out beaten up piece of junk actually, but what was placed on top of the table made Sanji gasp in awe and step closer.

Resting in an elaborate stand were three swords. They appeared to be some sort of katana type, long thin cases housing what Sanji could only surmise as extremely sharp blades. Each one was so significantly different than the others, yet so similar just the same. He reached out to touch the top one, a brilliant white weapon, but paused as he glanced towards the middle and bottom swords, a red and black respectively. Why were such beautiful crafts locked away in this room? Were these Zoro's? Had the blind man been some sort of swordsman before this attack by Hydra?

Pulling away, the chef turned his attention back to the hole in the wall, stepping towards it and pausing just on this side of it. The dim light cast from the bulb in the ceiling did little to illuminate whatever lay beyond and with a swallow, Sanji stepped over the low lying brick into the darkness.

Warmth flooded over him instantly, hitting his body and face like someone turned a fan on him, pushing hot air at him in a constant wave. There was also the distant sound of water, but what or where exactly it was coming from, Sanji couldn't pin point. Feeling out with his feet, he took another cautious step forward, trying to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. The blond could feel himself blinking but still couldn't see much of anything.

The ground under his feet was still dirt but it felt smooth and packed, void of any rocks or tree roots that he thought may have been out here. Maybe this was some sort of natural cave they had discovered somehow. But again, what did it have to do with Roronoa and Zoro?

Sanji tested his luck. “Zoro?” He spoke calmly, hoping for some sort of reply, but he also wouldn't be surprised if all he got back was an echo. Somewhere water dripped, the weird blip like noise reverberating off the walls. “Are you down here?”

The weird scraping sound caused Sanji to jump, freezing to his spot at the strange new noise. Something was most definitely in here with him! But what he couldn't tell. Taking a step back, subconsciously raising his hands in front of him, Sanji went to turn and run back for the safety of the wine cellar when something curled about his feet and pulled them out from under him. He fell flat on his back, smashing his head, the air rushing from his lungs and leaving him to gasp like a dying fish on the hard ground as a growl sounded, along with more of that strange scraping noise.

Inhaling deeply, shoulders grinding back into the dirt, Sanji attempted to sit up, to flip to his feet and bolt for the light. Just as he was planting his hands for leverage, something grabbed him, pinning him to the floor where he lay. In the barely there light cast from the dim cellar room he could see what appeared to be sharp black talon like claws digging effortlessly into the ground on either side of his head.

Panic overwhelmed him and the short panted breaths were beyond Sanji's control as the weight of the claws pressed down on his chest, threatening to break his ribs and possibly even end his life. Was this Roronoa?! Was this why the room was locked all the time?! Why would Zoro even come in here if something like this lived down here?! Why did something like this live down here?! What was this?!

The growl sounded again as the talons flexed over his slim body. A light appeared above him, turning and focusing in on him slightly as it lowered itself towards him. No, not a light, Sanji realized as he stared wide eyed and open mouthed at the orb of gold flecked white that stared him down. He swallowed, his throat beyond dry as he tried to get the single word out. The one word he hoped would pause this...this thing from killing him. “Zoro?”

The eye stopped moving, jerking back slightly then rushing forwards to be just inches from his face. It was all he could see, the eye itself almost casting a dim glow of its own, the white brighter than any other time he had seen it before, a splattering of what looked like gold dust swirling about the opaque surface. The deep voice boomed around the room, echoing off the walls as each word was snarled out at him. “My name is Roronoa.” It sounded so familiar, each syllable vibrating through Sanji's body, the weight of the talons pressing down making it hard to breathe. “So you can see after all.”

 


	8. Book One: Emerald

When Sanji woke, groggily opening his eyes, the first thing that swam into his blurred vision was a frowning Law. Next was pain and he was sure the contorted look on his face showed his displeasure as he stared blearily at the hat wearing doctor. The dark haired man looked up and away from Sanji, casting his gaze elsewhere. “He seems okay-ya.”

“What were you doing in that room?” Master Mihawk's voice was harsh, firm and sounded from Sanji's side. Turning his head slightly, blinking more and groaning at the pain that blossomed in his chest, the chef wasn't at all surprised by the glare he was receiving from the man. “You should not have been in that room.”

The fact that Sanji was in his own room, tucked under the covers of his comforter hit him. The last thing he remembered was that large white eye looming close to him. Then nothing. He must have passed out at that point. The immense pressure on his chest and the lack of air causing him to fall into unconsciousness. Master Mihawk was frowning at him as he blinked again, swallowing as he collected his words. “I was looking for answers. Everyone around here always conveniently doesn’t quite answer them for me.”

“And what questions would you have?” The Manor owner flicked his yellow eyes towards the doctor, then back to Sanji. “I have not heard of these questions.” His perpetual frown only deepened. “If you had concerns you should have brought them to my attention.”

“Kinda hard when you have been gone-ya.” Law cut in, jerking back slightly at the glare shot his way.

“I just want to know what's going on around here.” Shifting his arms, Sanji tried to sit up, gasping in pain as it rushed across his chest. Law placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him, to which Sanji didn't fight. Instead he pushed the covers down, exposing his now bare chest, sucking in a sharp breath at the bruise that darkened most of it. “For starters, what caused this?”

“That you know the answer to.” Mihawk rose from his chair, hands crossed behind his back as he leaned slightly to take a better look at the strange Y shaped bruise across his chest. “That would have been Zoro.”

“Whatever the fuck lives in that hole; whatever it was that pinned me down...it said it's name was Roronoa, not Zoro.” Sanji snarled out the words, lowering his eyebrows at the older man. He gestured to his chest as he spoke, not at all pleased that once again he was getting non answers to his questions.

“They are one in the same.” His voice was calm and steady as Mihawk spoke. “Not how I would have had you do it, but a decent crash course in using the sight just the same. Zoro has always been forthcoming like that.” He nodded slightly, turning towards Law again. “Make sure he is taken care of properly and escort him out to the garden when he is feeling up to it. Oh and Sanji,”

“Yes Master Mihawk?” The blond spoke quietly, swirls of thought running through his head. There was no way that whatever that monster had been was Zoro. But the eye, the voice; there was no other option! And the way the Manor Master was speaking, it was like he was well aware of what that thing in the basement had been.

“It would be wise of you to not use that name again. When you are up and about, I will explain further, but there is a reason we call him Zoro. Please do remember that.”

“I will.” Sanji almost whispered, watching as his boss left the room, the door closing behind him softly.

Law cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes from under his hat at Sanji slightly. “It's mostly just some bruising. There is a cracked rib and I set a bottle of pain meds on your table. You should be happy-ya.” He stood as well, picking up and shouldering a small medical bag. “When I first saw Zoro-ya he tried to bite me in half.”

“B-bite you in half?!” The blond jerked into a sitting position, doubling forwards in pain as he did so. His gasped and coughed, which did nothing to ease the sharp pain in his chest. Just wait till he saw that bastard again! He was going to give that moss head a piece of his mind. “Wha—what is he?”

The doctor chuckled, resting his hand on the top of the bag, fingers messing with the clasp of the strap. “Lay here and rest a bit.”

“No,” Sanji wheezed out, laying back to ease off the pressure of his chest. His hand went to the darkest part of the bruise, gingerly feeling the swelling there as he pressed lightly at the sensitive skin. “I wanna know. Help me up.”

Law grunted, shifting his bag over his back and grasping at Sanji's extended hand. “No one listens to me-ya. The pain medicine I gave you already should begin working shortly. It's going to take a few weeks for your ribs to heal.”

“I know,” With a pained grunt, Sanji was hauled to his feet, falling forwards a bit before catching his balance. Law's hands went to his shoulders and waist for support, eying the blond as he closed his eyes and swallowed again. “Okay,” The chef nodded, opening them and looking at the other man. “I'm good. This isn't the first time I have broken something.”

“That wasn't in the files I had transferred from the hospital.” Stepping back, the doctor scowled at the floor. Slowly Sanji made his way across to his still packed bags, rummaging for a thin and light T-shirt so they could make their way towards the garden.

“I never went there that's why. It was over the summer I graduated from high school and was headed to college. Just because I graduated with a culinary degree doesn't mean it was the only thing I did.”

“You're just as dumb as the rest of them-ya.” Law crossed his arms, walking calmly next to Sanji as they exited the room and made the slow walk towards the gardens. “Always over doing it. Zoro-ya didn't listen either.”

“You all seem pretty calm with the fact you have some giant monster here that walks around.” Sanji grimaced as they came to the stairs. He leaned on the railing as they started the decent down them.

“Sanji!” Law opened his mouth to speak but the high pitched voice that came out was clearly not his and the two men exchanged a confused glance as Perona appeared at the bottom of the stairs! “Zoro told me you can see! That's great!”

“Oi! Leave him alone Perona-ya!” Law snapped, treading down a few of the stairs in front of the blond to stop the pink haired girl from attacking him in an excited hug. “He's hurt. Did Zoro-ya tell you what he did?”

“No,” the overly excited girl frowned, pulling her ear buds from her ears and flicking a hand into the air. “All he said was that Sanji could see. Well that wasn't how he said it, he called you a shit cook and a weakling, which is so not cute! And not true! You're an amazing cook Sanji!”

“Thank you my dear,” Sanji ground his teeth as he bit back the snapping comment he had about that blind bastard calling him weak. He was not weak! Coming to the bottom of the stairs, the three turned down the hall for the kitchen and the screen door that would lead to the garden.

“Zoro-ya tried to kill him.” The brooding doctor said flatly. “Granted Sanji-ya here shouldn't have been in his den, but that is still not an excuse to try to kill the help.”

“Did you scare him? If he was asleep, you may have startled him. He tends to act badly when that happens.” Hands clasped behind her back, Perona frowned as she looked over to Sanji. “Besides he's very protective of his den. There's a reason the door stays locked. I'm sorry he hurt you. I try to keep him in line but he doesn't always listen to me.”

“How'd you get in there anyways?” She went on, eyes narrowed at him in suspicion. It was so unlike her, the serious tone of her voice as the three padded along the hall. The muffled clomp of her boots matched the doctor's foot falls as he walked between Sanji and the pink haired girl.

“Good question.” Law added in, rubbing at his jaw in thought and shifting his satchel again.

“The door was open.” Sanji stated simply. “I went down there and it was open. I want answers. I'm sick of everyone jerking me around!” The three stepped into the dinning room, Law holding the door for the others as they made their way towards Sanji's kitchen. The swinging doors moved easily as the blond pushed through them, grumbling to himself about the entire encounter. He was starting to feel a little better, the pain killers Law had given him taking affect as he glanced about his kitchen.

It wasn't a total mess but was still dirty compared to how he would have liked to have seen it. He must have been unconscious during breakfast. Mihawk topped the stairs to the wine cellar, slight shock crossing his face as he noticed the three entering the kitchen. His steely gaze swept over the three of them before finally landing on the doctor. “Thank you Law. I am sure Perona and I can handle him from here.” Without another word, Law spun on his heel and left, pushing back out the door he had just come through and was gone.

Sanji glanced from his boss to Perona and back, the two looking at each other quietly before Mihawk took a breath to speak. “Have you seen Zoro this morning Perona?”

She nodded, humming a yes. “He was out by the pool when I left him to come see Sanji.” Lightly, she wrapped her arms around Sanji's much the same as she did to Zoro. “He was swimming.”

“Then let us go there.” Turning, the man walked through the kitchen to the screen door, the others following. The morning was cooler than the last, but just as bright, the sun already fairly high in the sky. The path rocks bit into the blond's bare feet as they made their way towards the pool and he winced as a sharp one poked at the arch of his foot.

The blasted sheep bounded onto the path, kicking up rocks and darting passed, almost tripping up the Manor owner, who gave an annoyed sigh before turning up the steps up to the pool. “Zoro.” He spoke loudly, moving around the corner ahead of the others.

“Yeah?” Came the sharp, if not annoyed reply. “What do you want? More scolding? I already told you last night the coo—” The words cut off in a snort as the three stepped onto the cement lining the pool.

Sanji smacked a hand to his forehead. The damned blind bastard was laying on his back in the murky green tinted water, once again completely naked. Arms swinging calmly back and forth to keep him afloat, his blind gaze shifted towards the sounds of their voices as a wide smirk spread across his scarred face. “Ah, well, Cook. You're alive.” He laughed as he shifted in the water, dropping to tread water easily.

“You bastard!” Sanji barked, snapping his hands to fists at his sides. The water bobbed about from the motion of the man's hands, a slight shimmer to it from the sun that had the chef narrowing his eyes in not only annoyance but from the brightness of the water.

“Do you see that?” Perona leaned close to Sanji's ear, squeezing his arm briefly before easing off again. “The shine?”

“From the sun on the water?” With a frown, Sanji watched as Zoro swam easily to the far side of the pool, once again hauling himself up and out of it easily with a grace he normally didn't give the thickly built man. At the same time the chef found himself sucking in a breath, eyes drifting over the wet defined shoulders and back of the man across from him; Sanji also found himself cursing. This man wasn't a man at all...he wasn't sure what Zoro was and here he was gawking. Again. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself for it.

The blind man bent slightly to pick up a towel, running it over his shoulders and scrubbing through his hair before turning slightly to run it down his legs. “It's not the water,” Perona's gaze shifted away as Zoro dried off. “It's called the veil mirage.”

“Veil mirage?” Sanji wrinkled his nose at the phrase, sighing internally as the green headed man pulled his black pants on. He began to make his way towards them, his sightless gaze straight ahead as his feet smacked wetly against the cement.

“Now that you have seen through it, even if it was by force, you will begin to see things differently.” The pink haired girl kept her voice low. “Eventually you will hardly notice the mirage and you will just see things as they truly are. Zoro, though, he's different. The form you see here is human in nature. He can shift into it at will.”

Zoro stopped just feet from where Sanji stood, feet shoulder length apart and arms crossed over his bare chest. His gaze shifted as he tilted his head slightly to listen to what Perona was saying. The scowl deepened, scrunching at the scar on his lip and pulling at the ones across his eye. The brilliant white of the remaining eye caught the blond's attention and the flash of the one he encountered last night with the swirling gold hit him.

The blind bastard himself hadn't changed from what Sanji had come to know him as, but as he looked the man over again, the blond couldn't help but see the shimmer, this veil, Perona spoke of. It rose off his body like heat from a fire, wavering into the air a few feet all around him. “You can't see Zoro's true form when he's like this.” Mihawk cut in, glancing sidelong at the two before looking back to the man in question as he frowned at the three intruders to his pool.

“I'm not some trophy to fuss over Mihawk.” He growled out, tensing his shoulders and chest defensively.

“I was simply going to explain to Sanji how your magic is too powerful against the veil.” The man spoke quietly, yet there was an annoyed edge in his tone. “I'm still not pleased you tried to harm him.”

“He came into  _ my  _ den!” One of the crossed hands slammed against Zoro's chest as the man opened his mouth in shock. “What else should I have done? I didn't hurt him. Well not too bad.” He snorted a laugh as his own comment. “And I went to get Perona once he passed out. I could smell it on him.” With another chuckle, the blind man wrinkled his nose and swung his head towards Sanji. “Fear. The scent so powerful. I haven't smelt it that bad in a long time.”

“Fear!?” Sanji barked out, grinding his teeth as the other man continued to laugh at him.

“I'm pretty sure you pissed yourself!”

“Enough you two.” Mihawk waved a hand to silence them, turning towards Zoro again. Sanji curled his toes against the cement as he clamped his jaw shut. “Just show him.”

“Usopp would be a better start.” The green-haired man grumbled, casting his sightless gaze to the still waters of the pool.

“He saw you last night, so Sanji already has idea of what to be looking for.” Perona spoke up unhelpfully and Sanji thought Zoro rolled his remaining eye. It was hard to tell with the entire orb being white, but his facial expression made the cook think that's what he did. “Only for a moment.”

“This goes against all the rules you guys set on me.” With a sigh, he stepped back a couple paces, raising his arms in the air, palms towards the sky. “Go big or go home right?”

No one answered him as the air about them all began to shimmer with the same strange wave like heat that Sanji now noticed seem to cling to Zoro. The air itself did seem to heat slightly, not uncomfortably so, but it grew warmer just the same, reminding him of the rush of air he felt in that cave the night before. In front of them, Zoro closed his eye, exhaling a deep breath as he brought his hands together in front of his chest, palms and fingers pressed against one another tightly.

In a swirl of air and water, Sanji's jaw dropping open as the water of the pool seemed to come alive, slithering from where it lay to circle around the blind man with the air. He took a subconscious step back as Zoro actually rose from the ground, all the water from the pool enveloping him completely in some sort of murky sphere. It boiled and rolled around, steam rising into the air as the water moulded and shaped into something else. Something much larger and more complex than a human, before dropping away in a crashing wave and a spray that drenched everything with in the area. Water flooded back into the now empty pool as Perona squeaked at getting soaked and Mihawk sighed in something that almost sounded like regret.

Sanji actually fell back on his ass, dropping to the cement and not only hurting his tailbone, but gasping as a new wave of pain rocked through his ribs. Water pooled about him, drenching his already soaked clothes as he pulled at the T-shirt that now clung tightly to his skin. There was no way this was real. The three of them; no all of them here playing some sort of insanely complex trick on him. This was the stuff of stories and nightmares.

Brilliant green scales flashed in the sun, wet from the water that had seemed to create them as a tail flicked lazily in the remaining water of the pool. Black taloned claws that looked surprisingly familiar dug into the cement, tearing it up easily as the long neck snaked down, bringing the creature's massive head to eye level. The white eye came into view as the head turned, the swirls of gold just as impressive as they had been the night before. More so as the sun hit them and glinted off the swirling vortex within the white.

Perona moved close, wrapping her arms around the muzzle, stroking into the green mane of hair like fur that started behind black horns. She didn't seem concerned with being wet in the slightest as she dropped her head against the broad forehead. A contented purr like noise came from the creature, closing his eye and nuzzling against the pink haired girl carefully. The snake like body coiled closer, the rise and falls of the long sleek body taking up most of the area on this side of the pool. “He's...is that really...?”

“A dragon?” Zoro spoke, his voice vibrating through the very air as he picked his head up, opening his eye again and staring down at Sanji carefully. “Yes.” He opened his jaw, bearing long white fangs in some sort of predatory grin. Saliva dripped from them as the long tongue curled around one edge of his jaw. “My name is Roronoa, the Southern Green and controller of water.”

 


	9. Book One: Emerald

A dragon!? A fucking dragon?! There was no way! No absolute way that this was real! It couldn't be! Yet, as Sanji sat open jawed and gaping at the monster in front of him, that was exactly what he was looking at. Suddenly that story made so much more sense concerning the four brothers. Roronoa....Zoro, whatever the hell his name was, was the Southern Green of the story, third youngest of four!

He watched as the beast turned from Perona, gliding into the water of the pool, circling upon himself as he laid down in it, taking up most of the area with his massive size. The blond could see the long jagged scar across his neck and chest, the scales dug up and torn like someone had clawed at them. The same could be said for the ones that raked across his snout and eyes, sealing the left one and blinding the right. They looked so much worse in this form as Zoro laid his head on the cement at the edge of the pool, snorting water from the end of his nose towards Sanji and Master Mihawk. Several long tentacle like whiskers, thick and scaled the same brilliant green, left wet trails along the cement as the dragon moved his head. “Happy?” His deep voice cut through the stunned silence with a growl. The very air seemed to vibrate with the bass tone, humming along Sanjji's wet skin easily.

“Yes, thank you.” Master Mihawk nodded calmly, turning his gaze from the large reptile to the chef on the ground. “Do stand please, Sanji.”

“That story,” he blurted out, rising slowly to his feet as he continued to stare at the snake-like dragon in the pool. Water rippled about as the dragon breathed quietly, the small waves lapping against the sides of the pool softly. “There are four of you?!”

There was a sad sigh as Zoro twisted his head around, his scales scraping along the cement as he turned towards Perona. Once again the girl wrapped her arms about the beast's muzzle, dropping her head against the marred scales. “There were four,” She said quietly. “Now there are only two left.”

She scratched at the scales under the blinded white eye, titling her head to focus on what she was doing, Zoro giving her a contented humming purr like noise in return. No one spoke as a million things ran through Sanji's head. The foremost being that dragons were real, living and breathing in the pool in front of him. Zoro shook his massive head, sitting back up on his front claws as he took another deep breath. With a splash and a wall of water falling into the pool, the large reptile was gone, and green haired man resurfaced from the depths of the pool, exhaling the same breath and making his way towards the edge.

Easily he pulled himself from the water, sheets of the clear liquid cascading down his shoulders, following the dips and curves of the muscles in his back. Over his chest and rippling down his abs before getting caught up for just a moment on his pants and making its way down his legs to pool at his feet. With a hand, the blind man wiped at his shoulders and chest, as if to dry himself of the excess that remained on his tanned skin. “That story is no story,” he spoke lowly, a slight growl to every word he bit out. His tone was deep, if not a bit remorseful as he spoke. “Even I am not sure how we came to be, my brother may know though, being the oldest, but it's all truth. There were four of us, each given power to help shape the world as it is today.”

“And Ace was...” Sanji trailed off as the blind man turned his gaze towards him.

He frowned, a sad downward curve of his scarred lip as the harshe lines in his face seemed to smooth slightly. “Portgas was the Northern Red, yes.”

“You should stop using your names,” Mihawk spoke sternly, folding his arms across his chest.

“Do you think I care if he hears?!” Zoro snapped at the man, baring teeth as he did so. “He killed Ace! Tried to kill me! We have no idea where Phoenix is! If he's even alive. He's gonna come back! That bastard hasn't stopped trying to hunt us for centuries!”

“Zoro...” Perona moved to step near him, reaching out an arm to him. Clearly he was upset and angry, even Sanji got that much as he watched, still in shock at the fact this blind guy, who spent most of his time sleeping and drinking, was some sort of mystical creature of legends and fables.

“NO!” He jerked from her grasp and she jumped in place at his harsh tone. “This is enough! I'm sick of running from him! He's killing my family,  _ our _ family, for his own sport because he was pissed off!” Something welled up in the chef as he remained silent. He wouldn't call it fear, but knowing what lay under that anger made the man's grief that much more real. Sanji had never had any siblings, so he didn't know what the dragon was going through, but part of him, even if a small part felt bad for him. It had to hurt to lose someone so close. “He was childish then and is still childish now.”

“What are you going to do Zoro?” The yellow eyed man still spoke calmly, but you could hear the restraint in his voice as he did so. He didn't seem to like the tone the dragon had and was trying his hardest to keep calm here and not snap at the, now apparent, older man. Sanji snickered to himself at that thought. Zoro may have looked to be about Sanji's age, but he was centuries older, maybe even millennium. It was kind of funny to him.

“Ima fight him.” The blind man snapped, throwing his hands into the air. “Ima find my brother and we are going to fight him.”

“Water and air against what's left of the earth?” Perona mumbled quietly, clamping a hand over her mouth as Zoro snapped his head back to glare unseeing at her. “Zoro, can you even? Look at what he did last time.”

“In case you've forgotten Perona, I  _ can't _ .” He snarled out the words, the bitter tone in his voice plainly heard. “I can feel them though. Every day, I can feel the beat of my blood rush over these scars and not a day goes by that I don't think of sinking my teeth into his throat.”

“Okay, hold on,” Sanji, finally finding his voice, spoke up. His bare feet splashed in the water that was all over the place as he took a step forwards. “Zoro,”

“What Cook?” He barked at the blond, turning his heated unseeing stare at the other man.

“You're being hunted? By what? That Hydra thing Law mentioned?”

“Hydra is what he has become. He is no longer a dragon.” With a sigh and a hand through his hair, the blind man turned and made his way back to his chair where he dropped into it. He stretched out and settled into it, as if sunning himself in the mid morning light. “I don't know what the peoples named him, if anything. My little brother was always the jealous type, looking to make everything his own and not wanting to help. He felt cheated, like he hadn't gotten any abilities worth his time, but the power over the very ground we walk on is just as important as mine over water or...” He paused, searching for a word that seemed to fail him. His mouth opened, then closed with a frown before he spoke again. “My brother's over air.” He finished, scowling at what Sanji could only guess was his inability to use his brother's real name.

He was beginning to understand the layers of order and respect around here as well. Rules set in place by both sides to keep Zoro safe from this Hydra. And possibly the others as well, if the little looks from dinner at Perona the other night were anything to do by. There was an unwritten respect they all cast towards the dragon, and rightly so, even Sanji felt a slight twang of regret at being so hotheaded with him. Yet at the same time, Zoro seemed to respect them as well and they all seemed to bounce off one another easily. Whether is truly was Zoro or Master Mihawk who had the final word though, it was hard for the chef to tell. “Your own brother wants to kill you?” Sanji spoke lowly, almost mumbled the words but Zoro grunted at him none the less.

“Yes. We tried to talk him out of it, but he was already gone. It started here,” A hand came up, fingers lightly touching at his own chest over his heart, sliding across the few stray water droplets with ease. “It's as the book says, once a hatred, that darkness from within, is planted, it is very hard to remove. It consumed who he used to be. I didn't even recognize him the first time I had seen him since he left us.”

“And the last,” Mihawk cut in, scowl curving the corners of his mouth downward with ease. “That was the night that he took Zoro's sight from him, almost took his life as well. If it wasn't for Law, he most certainty would have been killed.” The Manor owner turned his disappointed look from Sanji to Zoro. “You tend to forget that.”

“I don't forget anything.” Waving a hand, the blind man closed his eye, shifted further into the chair and sighed heavily through his nose. His hands rested easily in his lap as he crossed his feet at the ankles, flexing his toes as he did so. “Your family tends to forget that. Sometimes I think the girl's the only one with any brains out of the lot of ya's. I'm done with this. Get out of here.”

With a sad look cast his way, Perona turned on her heel and left with a small sigh. She didn't even question Zoro as she popped her ever present ear buds back into her ears. Mihawk stood a second longer before he, too, sighed heavily. “You are impossible when you get like this.”

“Don't get me like this! Stop bringing in people I have to explain it to or start explaining it yourself.” The dragon's tone was flat as he crossed his arms behind his head. Zoro completely dismissed the Manor Master without a second thought to it, settling back into the lounge chair roughly.

“Come along Sanji,” Master Mihawk spoke quietly to him as he turned as well, placing a hand on the chef's shoulder before walking away. “It's best we just leave him to brood for a while.”

“No, Cook, you stay. I wanna talk to you.” Sanji wouldn't say the tone of his voice was commanding, but Zoro did speak to him with an air of someone who was listened to with out question.

“You wanna talk to me?” The blond raised an eyebrow as he glanced back at his boss. The man cast a glare at Zoro before treading down the steps and vanishing. Turning back, the chef made his way over to the other man. He wasn't afraid of Zoro in the slightest and for some odd reason, knowing what he really was made Sanji that much more at ease. He couldn't explain it at all, but knowing some of the answers to his questions made him feel a lot more relaxed about this entire household and the situation.

“You are here for a reason,” Zoro started before Sanji even got to him. He didn't bother to open his eye or even move from his position. He simply spoke as if he knew where Sanji was. And perhaps he did. For being blind, the man moved like he could still see somehow. Feet smacking wetly on the pool's edge, Sanji sat in the chair next to the blind man, sitting on the lip of the seat and resting his arms on his knees. “What that reason is though, I'm not sure. I can't figure you out.”

“Figure me out?” Sanji's brow furrowed in confusion. He forced himself to take a deep breath, feeling the pain spark across his chest and into his stomach. He tensed at the pain as he held the breath a moment too long before letting it out slowly through his nose and relaxing once more.

“Well, yeah,” The green haired man's brow crinkled as well in his own confused look, dipping and stretching the scars as he did so. “Mihawk, Perona and Robin, I know why they are here. Franky is her mate. Usopp and his stupid sheep I feel I owe and Law, well...That's complicated. But you,” He sat up at that, throwing a leg over each side of the chair and swinging his blind gaze towards the chef. The dragon seemed to stare straight at him and Sanji couldn't help but watch that white eye. He found himself searching for the flecked gold he had seen before but all he could see was the pale color against deeply tanned skin. “ _ You _ I just don't get. We have been fine with out an actual cook for a long time, then out of the blue Mihawk decides to get one and you appear on the doorstep. You can see and aren't screaming for your life anymore, so somewhere...”

“You think I knew I could?” Sanji finished for him as he cut him off. Zoro grunted and nodded, seemingly satisfied with the blond's answer.

He swallowed as he rolled a hand in the air as if searching for some word he couldn't quite find. “Subconsciously,” he finally stated firmly. “I have seen if before. Some time past someone could see, or there may have been some mating. The blood has to come from some where.”

“Humans don't call it mating Zoro.” Sanji rolled his eyes as the man shrugged. “Are you saying I'm not human?”

“No,” he spoke calmly. “You're human. It's more than likely your family was able to see through the veil at birth at one point, like Mihawk and Perona. Then just over generations you lost it. Happens all the time. All those weird encounters of the paranormal you see on the news and what not.”

“This is unbelievable.” Sanji mumbled into his hands as he dropped his face into them.

“Well it's true.” Zoro settled back down into his chair. “He's gonna come back, my little brother. You need to be ready.”

“Ready?” Picking his head up, he looked over to Zoro, who closed his white eye and hummed contently into the sun.

“Yes. There will be a fight. He will be out to finish the job this time. You got any skills Cook?” He grinned, crossing his arms behind his head for a rest. “Well useful ones anyways?”

“I grew up learning a weird form of Mauy Thai and Savate.” Sanji shrugged it off like it was no big deal, mentally grinning as the dragon furrowed his brow at the comment. “It's kickboxing while wearing my shoes basically.” He continued before the other man could open his mouth. The scars on his lip quirked and bunched as Zoro's face twisted as he seemed to contemplate the chef's words, before giving a half nod and bobbing his head back and forth.

“If you can fight with it, than it should work.” Zoro stated plainly. “When I'm not so busy, and you have healed up a bit; I would like to see you fight.”

Sanji couldn't help it. The words just came out. “Busy? You're not busy. And how do you expect to see me fight?”

Thankfully for the chef, Zoro simply snorted in laughter, turning his head slightly towards the sound of the blond's voice. “I'm sunning. I wouldn't expect a human to understand really. You let me worry about my ability to see or not.” He shrugged. “Now, off with you. You're interrupting my nap.”

“You asked me to stay out here!” Jumping to his feet, Sanji stopped himself before he kicked out at the chair Zoro was laying on. He heard the man's toes crack as he flexed them once more, stretching out and Sanji averted his gaze from the man's chest and stomach before he was caught staring at him for too long.

“And now I am telling you to leave. Bye Cook.”

“Oh, you're useless.” Trudging off towards the doorway to the pool, Sanji rolled his eyes. Once he got to the stairs though, he paused, turning back to look over his shoulder to the other man. He hadn't moved at all. Arms still crossed behind his head as he tilted his head back slightly, exposing his neck more to the sun above. With a sigh, Sanji walked down the stairs, this time being mindful of the walkway rocks as he picked his way back towards the kitchen. He still had a lot to learn about here it seemed.

 


	10. Book One: Emerald

The entire encounter was a bit more overwhelming to Sanji's injured frame than he originally thought it had been and as he started preparing an early lunch, it became quite clear that he wasn't going to be able to work at the speed and skill he normally would have. Sliding onto one of the silver stools, the blond rested his arms on the table and dropped his head onto them, staring blankly at the floor as he once again forced a deep breath into his lungs and shakily let it back out. His whole body seemed to hurt now, despite the pain killers Law had almost forced down his throat when the scowling steel eyed doctor discovered him in the kitchen pulling pans off his hanging racks.

He didn't remember his ribs hurting like this the last time he had broken them, yet again, when that had occurred it had been a well placed kick coming at him from his own level, not the weight of a fucking dragon trying to stomp on him like a damned bug!

“You okay?” Perona's voice wasn't quite as high as it normally was as her red boots squeaked across the floor. “You don't look so good Sanji. You're really pale. Maybe you should go lie down.”

“I'm fine, really.” Picking his head up to look over to her, his vision swam and a wave of light-headedness washed over him. Groaning he dropped his head back to the table, mumbling into his arm. “Okay, maybe you're right.”

“I will call Law.” Her voice was low and calm, Sanji realized. She was attempting to...what? He didn't know, but it was welcome, that much the chef was aware of. The two were quiet a moment until she clicked her tongue. “He's not answering. Want me to find Usopp or someone?”

“I can make my way there after I finish lunch, my dear.” Standing again, Sanji leaned his weight on his hands before standing on his own again. “Just a lot to take in around here is all.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Breaking the veil can be pretty overwhelming when you are not used to it. And you're injured on top of it. Are you sure you are gonna be okay? I'm going back out to the gardens. I can get Zoro to come walk you to your room. I don't think he'd mind.”

“Perona, forgive me dear, but how is he going to walk  _ me  _ anywhere?” Turning back towards the stove, Sanji wiped his forehead on his sleeve and raised an eyebrow at Perona.

The girl shrugged as if the dragon being blind never occurred to her. “If you need anything, call me okay? I will have my phone on me.” Perona turned towards the door, pausing at it once she got there. “Don't over do it Sanji. You need to heal right now.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine.” With a weak smile and a frown from the pink haired girl, they went their separate ways and Sanji finished preparing lunch, excusing himself to go lie down for a couple hours before anyone, except Perona and Zoro, who had come back inside, could ask him any questions.

Perona had insisted then as well that Zoro walk the chef to his room, but the blind bastard had barked out a laugh and turned, tromping his bare feet into the wine cellar and most likely the Roronoa room. Hands on her hips as the pink haired girl yelled after the green haired man, Sanji took the moment to slip away.

Getting to his room took a little more effort than he cared to admit, but Sanji sighed in relief as he closed the door behind him and leaned against it. This had to be the most fucked up situation he had ever put himself in to date. And the blond had done what he had thought had been some bizarre things in his life.

He was thankful for the drawn curtains as he curled still bare toes into the plush carpet, the fact he had been cooking barefoot only now occurring to him. So unsanitary in a professional setting such as this and he continued to berate himself as he climbed into the bed and settled his shoulders against the headboard. With a thunk Sanji dropped his head on it, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath yet again.

With no plan to truly sleep, Sanji rather planned to just distance himself from the chaos that was sure to be lunch and the house hold, to relax and let the creepy doctor's pain meds fully take hold. There was only so much supernatural bullshit he could take in one day! And he still had Usopp to tangle with as well. He severely hoped the damned gardener wasn't a dragon as well, the blond wasn't sure he could handle that.

Letting his eyes close, Sanji took in the stillness of the room, listening to the almost hum like noise the silence of the room made. Even through the heavy curtains though, he could hear birds and the occasional blat of Merry in the garden, the light edging around the curtains just enough to be able to see faintly. Taking another deep breath, Sanji let it out slowly, turning his head and cracking his eyes as he heard the door creak open.

His vision remained narrowed, things slightly blurry as the gap became larger, eyes only widening as tanned fingers reached around the edge and Zoro appeared instantly in the room, the door shutting softly behind him with a click. “What are you...” The blond trailed off as the other man raised a hand to his own mouth in a gesture to be quiet.

“I came to apologize.” His voice was low, but still gruff as he ran a hand through his short cropped green hair. Sanji couldn't help but let his eyes wander. The shadows of the dark room cast themselves perfectly across the dips and curves of the dragon's muscles, defining the already cut contours of his body even more. There was something so dangerously wrong about him having such a precise form and Sanji wasn't sure if the lick to his lips was something he really did or just thought he had.

His black pants were set low on thin but formed hips, the two muscle cut indents dipping under the hem and almost begging Sanji to follow them. It took a lot of effort for him to pull his gaze back to the marred face as Zoro spoke again, the scar across the bridge of his nose scrunching as he furrowed his brow. The thin light lines across his lips and cheeks pulled as he said what it was he needed. “I shouldn't have reacted the way I did last night with you not knowing.”

Clearing his throat, Sanji nodded weakly in an attempt to refocus his brain. “I shouldn't have been down there snooping around.” The last word caught in his throat as the blind man shook his head and walked over to him, sitting down on the edge of the bed like he owned the place. Perhaps, Zoro truly did.

“For all that I am,” Zoro started, voice still low and slightly gravelly as he leaned forwards into Sanji's space slightly. Once again, as so many times before, Sanji's attention went to the blinded white eye. Only now, he was searching for the brilliant flecks of gold as the dragon's voice seemed to vibrate through him. “I can't heal you.”

“S'okay,” he murmured, completely unaware he was leaning forwards till Zoro's hand snapped out and grasped at the base of his neck by his shoulder. The thick calloused fingers were warm, the heat seeming to pool under his palm as the other man brought his forehead to touch the blond's. He took a deep breath, closing the one open eye and let it out slowly through his nose. “Zoro?” Sanji asked quietly, trying his best to search the expressionless face so close to his own.

“It's been so long...” The dragon trailed off, voice still low and Sanji was aware of how unlike himself he was right now. For all their encounters to this point, the chef had never seen the other man be anything but rude and hostile to everyone, even Perona, although of them all, she was the one he was nicest to. “If I asked...would you...”

“Would I what?” Wrinkling his nose at the question, Sanji didn't dare pull away. The dragon's temper was short on a good day and he was still injured. There was no way he would be able to defend himself to the best of his abilities if Zoro decided to snap out of this docile mood.

“Lay with me Sanji.” It was not a question, nor a command. Just a simple spoken sentence as the blind dragon tilted his head slightly, pressing his mouth over Sanji's. The blond blinked in surprise as he stared at the bridge of Zoro's nose, just taking in the warmth of the other man before he reacted. He leaned into the kiss, feeling the dragon's hand run up into his hair and he let his eyes fall closed.

Sanji was beside himself as he parted his lips against the other man's, tongues coming to meet almost lazily in a slow dance of exploration. The blond could admit that, yes, he was physically attracted to the body that Zoro had chosen, but whether he was truly attracted to the man...dragon, whatever he was... his personality, the chef couldn't say. Not that he was caring with the way the skilled tongue wrapped around his own and pushed him back into his own mouth, the heat of Zoro's body flooding him as the hand in his hair pushed him closer.

Zoro shifted on the edge of the bed, never breaking the kiss, swinging one leg over Sanji's own as he settled onto the blond's thighs. He pulled away then, pressing his forehead against the chef's own and Sanji could feel the heat seeping into his own skin. That was the most intense of feelings in his surroundings right now. Everything was warm with a radiating heat coming from the dragon. Nothing over powering, but Sanji was content and joined in the slight hum as the dragon moved to nuzzle into the crook of his neck and shoulder.

“Why me?” He breathed the words as he let his head fall back, the back of his head hitting the headboard with a rattling thunk. The dragon's tongue traced a path across his skin, leaving cooling tracks across heated skin before placing a kiss against his racing pulse. “Zoro?”

“You don't fear me.” Each word vibrated against Sanji's throat, the feel of Zoro's lips against him. The tanned hand from his hair trailed down the other side of his neck, each finger mapping out more skin before coming to rest on his chest. “Even now, you aren't afraid.”

“How...” The rest of the words caught in the chef's throat as Zoro bit at the pulse, the hand on his chest pressing a little too harshly against his side. “Shit! That hurts.”

Zoro didn't answer, simply hummed in response as he moved farther down the pale neck, shifting his weight to pull the T-shirt from Sanji's frame. It landed on the carpet with a muffled sound as Sanji lowered his arms, resting his wrists on Zoro's shoulders. The other man continued his exploration, mapping patterns against Sanji's skin with tongue and teeth, small nips and bites as he made his way down his bruised chest. The light but firm grip to his sides was constant, the dragon's thumbs resting just under his lowest set of ribs, body arcing forwards in what seemed an impossible angle for Zoro.

The chef moved his hands, splaying both wide as he trailed them down tanned skin, feeling the rippling muscles of the warm body under his palms. His mind was racing again. How could this be happening? Why was this happening? Was he going to let this happen? What exactly would it mean if he and Zoro...Would they?  _ Could _ they? Is that why the dragon had come to him?

He was so warm and so welcoming, such a contrast to everything Sanji had seen of the gruff creature so far and it seemed to be only for him. Zoro had sought him out for this intended purpose...so had the dragon figured out whatever it was that had confused him earlier? “Don't speak,” Zoro had almost demanded when Sanji asked, moving to slip under the sheets with the blond. He curled against Sanji, shifting his body lower as he kissed at his bare flesh. Over the dips of Sanji's own abs, short nails raking trails towards his hips, thumbs catching his sweat pants easily.

He didn't even realize he had grown hard till Zoro bit his naval and all the blood in his body seemed to beat from his groin, a small groan of approval escaping from behind his own bit lip. The blind man chuckled and Sanji found himself wishing he knew what his eyes were like before he had been blinded. What color had those irises been? What type of fierce piercing gaze would he have had commanded when even now his stern looks could send shivers through him. Had they been gold? Shining brilliantly in the sun and glowing with purpose from the darkness?

Sanji found his hands were in Zoro's hair again, fingers scratching lightly at the scalp as Zoro eased his sweats off his hips slowly. Just before he was free of the confines of the annoying article of clothing, the dragon paused and the blond rocked his hips up in an effort to express his want to keep going. A small whimper of need escaped him as he felt the solid body of the dragon shift over him again and tilted his head into the touch at his cheek.

The touch was feather light, yet soft like fur and Sanji opened his eyes to see a tuft of green pull away from him, slithering and coiling like a snake before the realization that it was Zoro's tail hit him. He jerked away from the glimmering scales, slamming his back against the headboard and shooting pain down his body core. Zoro held his hips hard suddenly and all the warmth Sanji had felt was replaced by a sudden gripping fear as he snapped his attention to the man with him.

The dragon was crouched now, up on his feet with one knee pressed into the mattress as the long and elegant tail swished slowly over him, much as a cat stalking prey would do. His head was down, his mouth hovering over Sanji's naval still, small puffs of hot breath stirring the fine hairs circling the indentation of his belly button. “Zo—Zoro?!” He managed to get out, the pain of his ribs and the sudden realization that maybe the dragon wasn't here for sex slamming into Sanji almost as hard as the sharp nails that welled blood from his hips.

“I can smell you...” His words were deep with the hint of a feral growl. He kissed Sanji again and the chef could feel the scrapes of sharp teeth as the dragon moved up his abs towards his pecs and neck. All Sanji could do was lay there panting, swallowing and holding his breath in an attempt to calm himself, fear rising to the surface again as he watched in budding horror as the dragon climbed back up his body.

Zoro's upper body was littered in scales as well, small patches of dazzling green making him look even more bizarre than normal. The tail curled over them both now, coming to rest against Sanji's racing pulse in his neck. The fine hairs tickled his jaw and the chef clenched his teeth trying to fight the urge to rip his head away from the touch. He could feel his blood sliding down his hips, soaking into the sheets as the green-haired man's hands moved back up his body, fingers leaving bloody trails over his pale skin.

His breath caught in his throat as Zoro looked up to him, feral smirk giving hint to overly sharp canines as he raised a hand to lick the blood from his thumb. It was the eyes though. The eyes that caught Sanji's attention. The pure shining gold obscuring all the white and giving off a slight glow as they seemed to swirl with different hues of the color. Even with no pupil, Sanji knew those eyes were locked onto his own, locked onto the widening fear that he was sure was evident on his face.

The dragon licked at his hand again, grin widening as his eyes flicked to his neck. “Didn't I mention?” His voice held a predatory growl to Zoro's every word as he leaned forwards, licking at the blond's pulse once more. The man hummed slightly and the blond could feel him lick at his lips against his skin. “I can taste it too now.”

“W—what?” The word hung in the air, thick and heavy as Zoro hummed in a want unlike anything Sanji had ever heard. The hand he had licked moved down, palming roughly at Sanji and the blond hissed in tense pleasure at the firm grip along his length. His touch was like fire, the heat of his palm almost too intense against the chef's already flushed skin. The gold eyes studied him closely, a faint light dusting over his nose and giving his tanned flesh a warm glow. The pointed tips of sharp canines dug into his lower lip, but it seemed to Sanji that the dragon could have cared less.

“The fear...” With a growl, Zoro opened his mouth and sank his teeth into the raging pulse of Sanji's neck. The blond tried to flinch away, the sound escaping his mouth anything but lust, but the dragon was faster. He snapped his arms up, fingers digging into the chef's upper arms as he settled his weight onto Sanji's hips. He couldn't move; the chef all but frozen to the spot as he felt Zoro's tongue lap at his blood. Warm trails ran down his neck as he tried to buck against the iron grip on his body and he gave a shudder, his stomach turning on itself as he felt the long teeth leave his flesh. The flat of Zoro's tongue ran over the wound as he hummed contently, nuzzling into the blood with his nose and smearing it across the pale skin. “It tastes so much better than it smells.”

Sanji bolted upright, gasping in a deep breath as his arm flew to his neck, smacking against it and sending the sound ringing around the quiet room. He rubbed at the spot where he could still feel Zoro's teeth, pulling away to reveal nothing but his own palm, beyond thankful he was alone. Dropping back against the pillows once more, he stared up at the dark ceiling wondering when it was he had fallen asleep and what exactly was in those pain meds that Law had given him. Maybe he was better off dealing with the pain if he was going to have dreams like that. One thing was for certain though, Sanji was hard and there was no longer a way he could deny his attraction to the dragon, even if it was fucked up.

Which it was...totally and utterly was. He gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat and rolled to his side, fumbling to pick up his phone. Lighting it up, he groaned and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The chef had actually been asleep for a few hours and it was time to start dinner. Picking up the bottle of pain meds, Sanji decided to forgo them for now, setting the small bottle back on his night stand before standing up and stretching stiffly.

Sifting a hand through his hair, nails scratching at his scalp, he tried to smooth his hair as he padded towards his bedroom door, remembering to slip on his sandals before returning to the hall and making his way towards the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, Sanji closed his door behind him trying to push the vivid images of his dream far from his mind so he could focus on his cooking. He needed to get a handle on himself before he encountered the dragon next. The chef began to think about what was in the fridge in an attempt to do so, curious about the state of his kitchen upon arrival and who he would see next.

 


	11. Book One: Emerald

Nami and Brook flew by him, circling around the large open hallway and striking off down the hall towards the library, cawing loudly to each other. They swooped and dived at each other, the flutter of their wings breaking the stillness of the front corridor. Sanji watched them go, eyebrow raised in question, carefully and cautiously making his way down the stairs.

Just as he was reaching the bottom of the steps, he saw Robin round the corner, coming from the hall where Master Mihawk's office lay. “Oh! You're awake.” She stopped with a small gasp as his presence must have startled her before she gave him a warm smile. “How are you feeling this evening? I was just informed you have broken the veil.”

The chef swallowed and nodded. “Yes, I am pretty sure that is what is happening. A nice warning on that blind bastard being a dragon though would have been nice, my dear.” Sitting on the last few stairs, Sanji ran a hand through his bed raggled hair again as he dropped his arms to his knees. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, the pain blossoming there now much greater than before. That's what he got for not taking the pain meds, but it was a lot better than weird ass trippy sex dreams about a dragon trying to rip your throat out he supposed. Unless of course you were into that sort of thing...the chef was going to have to talk to Law about changing his medication at some point in the near future. He could just see the raised eyebrows during that conversation.

The librarian giggled as she came to sit next to him on the stairs. A hand came to rest over his arm and she squeezed gently. “Tell me, have you encountered Usopp yet?”

“No,” Frowning, Sanji looked up to Robin. He blinked once, then several more times, convinced for a moment that the shimmer around her was from the pain medication wearing off before it occurred to him that she may also be like Zoro...something non human. She hadn't mentioned it, but she didn't seem like the type to reveal personal information too often. Robin didn't respond to his staring, instead watching him with a lidded expression as the blond seemed to work things out on his own.

The historian was nothing like Zoro and Sanji wasn't even sure if what he was seeing was part of this veil shit or not. Robin looked...well, human. There were no horns, or scales or fangs to be seen anywhere. She was human as far as he could tell, yet the dark purple aura that rolled and folded upon itself that surrounded her was anything but. Small flashes of what appeared to be lightning flickered along the darkness that shrouded her, drifting down the stairs and along the floor like a dense slow moving fog before reaching a certain point and doubling back towards the dark haired woman.

The entire...storm...was the word that came to mind, had the same dark purple hue, the lightning striking silently in almost white flashes. Sanji got the feeling there was something very old about Robin that he wasn't aware of, yet, he didn't dare ask. Mostly because you never asked a lady her age, but also because he was a bit concerned as to what she could do to him. “Master Mihawk,” Robin started as Sanji's gaze flicked back to her. He wasn't even sure when his eyes had drifted to the raging storm surrounding their feet, but they had. “He sent Franky out for take out. He said that you were in no condition to cook this evening.”

“I...I am fine, Robin, truly.” His brow furrowed as he watched the fog, drifting lazily along the plush rug. It seemed to be searching, thin tendrils snaking about the carpet, working their way down the hall before turning back and venturing in a different direction.

“Zoro stepped on you.” Well when she put it like that...

“Yes...I suppose I should give my ribs a few days to heal before I return to cooking.” The blond couldn't believe how calm Robin was being about this whole thing. He was sure now that she knew he knew she wasn't human...but what she was, he still couldn't say. She stood and the mists swirled about her, following her every move and coiling around her feet almost like it was alive.

Turning Robin held out a hand to Sanji. “Odin-son.” She said confidently as the chef looked at her hand.

“Excuse me?” Sanji used the rail to help haul himself to his feet, grasping lightly at the hand offered. Robin gave him another smile, but he couldn't help but think this one was on the verge on mocking his lack of knowledge.

“I am an Odin-son. A messenger of the Asgard.” She spoke with an air of importance, rising to her full height as the mists around her swirled darker and the blond was pretty sure he could hear thunder rumbling at her feet as well. She stared down her nose at him, but it wasn't a threatening glare that met him. It was one of her rank and importance, something that Sanji really didn't know much about.

“Like as in Vikings?” He raised an eyebrow at that in question. “As in the god, Odin?”

“He is my grandfather, yes.” Robin nodded, relaxing back into the librarian Sanji had come to recognize over the last week. “When I heard about what was going on with the brothers, I came to help Ro—Zoro.”

“How old are you?!” The words just came out. Sanji smacked a hand over his mouth, mumbling an apology behind his fingers.

Robin laughed it off with a wave of her hand. “Older than many, but the story of the four brothers was old when I was but a child. My father would tell it to me at night. Same as his father told him.”

“So, you're a goddess then?” Sanji just couldn't believe this. First a god like dragon, now...a Viking goddess?! What the hell was Usopp then?! The devil himself?! Robin turned from him and started the walk towards the kitchen and dinning room. She paused to look over her shoulder to make sure Sanji was following. A thin trail of the fog wormed towards him, wrapping loosely around his sandal clad feet as he stepped forwards and he got the weird feeling this had happened before.

“No, well, as you would know it, yes. Asgardians are not actually all immortal. I am not, but I am close to it.” She watched coolly as Sanji fell in stride next to her and the two continued the walk down the hall. “I fall into a different category. I am a messenger; a gatherer of knowledge. Nami and Brook are my companions in that venture. I will live until my time needed has ended. Since I have been charged with helping to maintain and guard Zoro, that will be for a long time still.”

“Charged? You said you came to help Zoro?”

“I did. And once Father found out what I was doing, he charged me with the task. It's his job as king of Asgard. But enough about me,” she waved a hand again, dismissing the conversation entirely. “Tell me about your encounters with Zoro. I will need to make a note of them in his book.”

“What do you want to know? Fucker stepped on me and broke my ribs.” Sanji frowned, then winced as he jumped forwards to pull open the large door to the dinning room for the librarian. She thanked him, but frowned as she obviously caught his wince of pain.

“Well, that, yes.” Stepping through the doorway, Sanji slipped in behind her. The room was quiet and dimly lit with no one in sight. The kitchen door was propped open with the silver cart and a crash sounded on the other side followed by Perona's voice. The high pitched squeak echoed out to them followed along with the barking laugh of one obnoxious blind dragon. “Well, this shall prove to be most helpful,” Robin mused, walking off towards the door leaving Sanji to trail behind and catch up.

The scene that met the blond when he came to the doorway made him groan. The place was a mess, well by his standards, with Perona standing over one of his prep tables waving a large knife, and the wrong kind of knife mind you, in the general direction of one shitty moss covered Zoro.

Literally.

He was perched on a stool, feet thrown wide as he leaned one arm on the table, the other hanging onto a tall thin half empty bottle, stray bits of moss sticking out of his hair and clinging to his open jacket. He grinned at the pink haired girl, licking his lips and craning his neck to the side as he tilted his head. “I can just eat them ya know.” He said gruffly, frowning as Perona waved a hand in dismissal.

“Not while I'm here!” She barked at him, returning to what Sanji could now tell was chopping the heads off the pan of fish from the fridge. He made his way over, making sure he stayed as far away from Zoro as possible. This was Zoro. A jerk of a person who couldn't even be bothered to learn Sanji's name; reminding himself over and over that this man...this  _ dragon _ was not the one of his dreams. This Zoro was not the one who had crawled into his bed and kissed him, teased him, stirred feeling in Sanji that he hadn't before hand put much thought to...and now was an inappropriate time to be thinking such things.

Zoro's blind gaze swung towards them and he snorted, picking up the bottle and pulling a long drink from it. “Robin.” He bobbed his head in a nod, then sneered towards Sanji, showing off his canines as he did so. “Cook.”

“Zoro,” Robin replied coolly, laying a hand on his arm for a moment and the removing it. Sanji simply rolled his eyes and huffed, turning his attention towards Perona. “Having fish are we? What? Can't eat with the rest of us?”

“Mihawk said something about Chinese...not my thing.” The dragon shrugged, reaching out a hand to nab a chunk of the fish, pulling back as a loud smack from Perona's hand hit his own. He shook out his fingers with a small shake of his head and a slight whine to his voice. “Sometimes I think she does this on purpose. Crunching the skulls in the best part!”

“That's sick and gross and wrong.” Perona shuddered as she threw another decapitated fish into a second bowl. “You can just eat them this way.”

“You don't have to stay while I eat ya know. I am capable of bringing the tray back.”

“Damn right you will.” Sanji snorted as he met the unseeing eyes of the dragon. He raised his own eyebrow, not that it did any good since Zoro couldn't see him do it. “These pans aren't toys, they are cooking instruments and are not to be played with.”

“Oh, well listen to you.” Zoro leaned back on the stool and he could hear his boots clunk against the bottom shelf of the table. His voice was gruff, yet somehow carried a slightly amused tone to it, almost like a hum with each word spoken. “Trying to tell me what to do.”

“My kitchen. My rules.” Sanji shot back, jerking a thumb to his own chest, not in the least bit intimidated by the dragon. A silence fell upon the room, started by a heavy thwunk of the knife Perona was using as it sank into the cutting board. Sanji would feel it as it closed in around them and could hear the silence hum through the air. The stool Zoro sat on creaked as he straightened a little before blinking slowly in the chef's direction and letting out a snort of laughter.

With a shake of his head, he grinned again and took a swig of his bottle. The liquid, Sanji could only assume it was alcohol, the smell helping in that small tip off, swished around the bottle as he pointed towards Sanji with the item still in hand. “That's a good one.”

“It's the truth of the matter.” Sanji placed both hands on the table, still giving the blind man his best glare. “I don't care who you are...fuck with my kitchen and I'ma fuck with you.”

“Starting to get why it was you.” With a pointed look in Robin's direction, even though it was clear the dragon meant Sanji, he stood and turned his attention fully on her. “You want to talk I take it? Let's go then? Cook, think you can carry that pan out?”

“I'm not done...” Perona started, a frown forming on her lips.

“It's fine.” Zoro waved a hand as he started towards the screen door that led out back. He paused, raising his arm for Robin to take, which she did so wordlessly and the two started once more for the door. “Cook...come on.”

“I can take the tray out Sanji.” Perona turned her attention to him as the screen door slammed closed with a bang. She threw one last fish into the large pan, before setting the knife down. “You shouldn't be lifting much with you ribs.”

“I can manage.” Sanji grunted out, stepping to grasp at the metal bin of headless fish. “You clean up in here for me please? There is bleach under the sink for the cutting board. Fill the left basin with water and pour in one cap full okay? Just one.”

Perona nodded vigorously, popping her one missing ear bud back into place and turned away from him to start her cleanup. The tray of fish didn't seem all that heavy, but as soon as the blond went to pick it up, pain shot through his chest and upper body and he had to set it back down for a second. Taking a deep breath and gritting his teeth, Sanji picked the container up a second time and made his way towards the pool, where he was sure the two had gone.

Merry was foraging about in the large open section of the garden, causing Sanji to pause for a moment to look at the little white sheep. He wasn't sure if he was expecting the same shimmer to surround her or not, but not seeing it and coming to the conclusion that she was indeed, just a sheep, he carried on. There was a large splash from the pool and Sanji looked up to the wall to see the sweep of what could have only been Zoro's tail.

He rolled his eyes as he stepped around the corner into the pool area. Sure enough, there was Zoro, sprawled out on his back, just as Usopp had described, in the pool water, his tail flicking on the cement near Sanji and his head twisted around so he could speak to Robin, who sat on the edge of one of the sun loungers on the far end. As soon as his sandals padded onto the wet concrete, splashing in a small puddle, the dragon's head whipped around and he rolled over, turning in the water and almost slithering towards Sanji. He rose up on his front feet, black talons digging into the edge of the pool as he turned his head to the side, the large white eye with its swirling gold facing him.

Sanji ducked as the whiskers wormed about, one almost smacking him in the face. There was a low growl like noise that the blond could only hope was a laugh. “You did that on purpose,” he spoke to Zoro as he lifted the tray slightly. “Where do you want this?”

“Just set it down.” Zoro followed Sanji's every move as he handled the tray, walking a few more paces before setting it on the edge of the pool for the dragon. He dived on it instantly, grabbing up a rather large fish and splashing back into the water, settling on his back once more as he proceeded to eat the fish like a fucking otter... With a huff, Sanji rolled his eyes and made his way over to Robin.

“He truly is an amazing creature.” She commented offhandedly as the two listened to the loud smack of his jaws as the fish disappeared almost whole into his mouth. “He can sit at the table with us and act completely human or come out here and well...” Robin gestured with her hand to the large water newt in the pool. There was no need to further comment. “Explain to me why you were in the cellar to begin with Sanji.”

As she spoke, the purple fog shifted and moulded about them, blanketing the ground around their feet. The blond felt small prickles over his toes as lightning flashed about in the depths of the cloud like fog. “The door to the cellar was open and the light was on.” Eyebrows dropping in confusion, Sanji sat on the other lounger, pushing Zoro's clothes away from him without thought. “Why does he even bother to turn the light on anyways? He can't see right?”

“I heard that.” Zoro grunted, shaking his head and flicking water at the two of them. “And I can see...just not like you can.” Sanji was going to ask for an explanation on that, but Robin turned the conversation back to where she wanted it with a pointed question about him going into the Roronoa room.

“The door was open.” Sanji replied simply. It was the truth, the door had been open. “Once I was inside, curiosity got the better of me.”

“Scared the crap outta me!” Zoro snorted again, grabbing at another fish. There was the sick sound of flesh being ripped apart, followed by the dragon's loud obnoxious chomping. “I was sleeping.” Sanji bit his tongue, almost barking out to the dragon to not talk with his mouth full. He may have if he thought it would have done any good.

“And you didn't close the door behind you Zoro.” Robin turned her scolding tone on him effortlessly. Sanji was amazed actually. Everyone had a weird form of respect for everyone else yet they all bickered and spoke like they were equals on one level or another.

“I didn't think nosy cooks were going to come snooping about in my den.” Zoro replied, rolling over on his stomach and scratching behind the long horns on his head with a rear foot. He turned his head away, revealing the side with the scar and Sanji couldn't help but look. The marred scales and black flesh that lay underneath reminded him of freshly broken earth being prepared for gardening. The long tracks across his eye and snout looking like furrow lines in a field.

With another shake of his head, Zoro took a deep breath and vanished into the pool with a splash of water before once again resurfacing as the human Sanji had grown used to seeing. He still wasn't over the fact the other man was a damned fucking dragon, but this time around the entire encounter seemed more...natural and relaxed as Zoro swam to the edge and hauled himself out of the water.

Naked.

Again.

At least the moss wasn't in his hair anymore.

Oh god...

Sanji adverted his eyes as he stepped passed him to pick up the towel that lay behind where he was sitting. He had no words for the dragon's blatant disregard at the fact Robin was sitting right there as well. Had the blind bastard no decency to not run about exposed with ladies present? Luckily the librarian continued on without seeming to notice or care.

It did nothing to calm his own raging swirl of mixed emotions that seemed to rise up in his gut. His dream flashed before his eyes once more and Sanji could feel the blood in his body unwantedly heat up and shift south without a care. He bit at his lip as he caught a flash of tanned skin, trying not to register it as the dragon's hip and perfect ass as he walked passed again, moving to sit on the bench that lined the wall. “No, I didn't lose the key Robin,” he was saying and it took all the mental strength Sanji had to focus on the words spoken as he finally allowed himself to glance over to where he was sitting, mentally breathing out a sigh of relief at seeing the black pants back on his person. Especially with the way his legs were thrown wide apart and the almost empty bottle dangling from his fingers in front of his crotch. Oh what a delicious image that would make...

It wasn't going to have done anyone any good for him to sit here fidgeting as he tried to hide a hard on that was sure to pop up...oh man, his brain was doing it again...had the dragon not put clothes on. It was bad enough he was still trailing water along his chest and arms. The clear liquid dripping down his face from his hair and what Sanji wouldn't give to be able to lick it from his cheek.

Whoa now!

“You gonna answer her?” Zoro was looking right at him, eyebrow raised in question.

“What? Sorry.” He thankfully turned from the dragon towards the historian as she repeated her question, clearing her throat as she did so. Her words were to the point and it felt to Sanji they pinned him to place where he sat. “No, my dear, I didn't touch anything. I didn't have the chance before I was almost crushed to death.”

“You were not.” Zoro played it off casually, raising the bottle to his lips and taking a swig. The small amount of liquid left glubbed about in the bottom. “Granted I did bare a bit more weight than needed, but you pissed yourself and passed out, so I went to find Perona. I could have left you there.”

“Indeed.” Sanji bristled at the man's comment, but didn't say anything as Robin threw a pointed glare at him instead. “You must learn to not scare the help Zoro.”

“He's still here isn't he?” The dragon shot back with a small smirk and a snap tilt of his head.

“Guys! Dinner!” Usopp's voice rang through the garden, jarring the three of them from their conversation. “Robin! Sanji! Zoro?”

“Yeah!” The dragon called, turning his head to listen to where the gardener was. Merry bleated and there was a laugh from Usopp. “We're coming.”

 


	12. Book One: Emerald

Smacking his hand on his knee, Zoro stood, bringing his bottle to his mouth once more as he turned and headed for the edge of the pool doorway. The dragon didn't bother to wait for either of them, calling out to Usopp again as that blasted sheep could be heard beyond the wall. Sanji stood and offered a hand to Robin, despite how his side was really beginning to hurt. Like it or not he was going to have to take more of those pain meds Law left him...fun times; not. He could only hope that he didn't have anymore nightmarish dreams about the blasted dragon. One was enough.

“Oi! Cook ca'mere.” Zoro's voice called back to them along with a groan from the gardener.

“You smell! Were you eating out here again?! Oh man, I think I'm gonna be sick!”

“Don't throw up out here!” The green haired man barked loudly as Sanji and Robin came to the corner of the doorway. Usopp was doubled over in front of Zoro, who had his back to them, but Sanji could just picture the scowl on his face as he crossed his arms. The gardener had his hands wrapped around his stomach, panting and Zoro reached out with two fingers to poke at his shoulder. “You gonna make it?”

“Don't touch me!” He jumped away, but he still wasn't visible to Sanji in the slightest. The dragon's own aura still shimmered, the weird heat like waves mingling with the rolling fog of Robin's. The chef couldn't place anything unique about Usopp's aura and that got him wondering if the gardener even had one. Throwing an arm over his eyes, he groaned loudly. “It's all I can smell.”

“I was in the pool!” Zoro grumbled back at him, but it did little good to calm the other man. No not a man, Sanji corrected himself; he didn't know what the curly haired guy was, but he certainly wan't human. Usopp himself had made that clear to Sanji before hand, but hadn't given him any clue in the slightest as to  _ what _ the curly haired gardener really was. Merry jumped about, kicking up gravel and bleating up quite a bit of noise around them all. Zoro clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You're so damned full of drama Usopp.”

“Not everyone can be around that awful smell all the time Zoro!” Taking a deep breath and keeping his eyes closed, the gardener sank to the ground, legs out in front of him. Sanji could get a good look at him now as the dragon snorted and wandered off without a care in the world, taking his weird ass ever present shimmer with him.

He almost choked on the spit in his mouth, at the end of Usopp's baggy dirty pants weren't feet but  _ hooves. _ Cloven hooves to be exact, much like that of a cow or a...sheep. His gaze went back to Merry as the little sheep climbed into Usopp's lap. “Yes, Merry,” he cooed at her. “I'm okay.”

The fuck was he anyways? What kind of creature had sheep's feet and a human torso?! He tried to remain calm, but Sanji knew his breath hitched as he stood there speechless in the middle of the garden. Surely he was gawking, but right now he could have cared less as Usopp smiled fondly at the sheep and scratched behind and ear.

Robin frowned as she watched the dragon go, returning her attention to the man on the ground as tendrils circled around him carefully, as if checking to make sure Usopp was truly okay. It was weird for Sanji to watch happen, but if the other man, no sheep, no, that couldn't have been right either....could it? Whatever, if he even noticed them, Usopp didn't seem to even react to them. In fact the only hint Usopp gave that he was even aware of Robin's strange life like aura was when it touched his cheek and he flinched away from it, glancing over to the dark haired librarian.

Taking a deep breath and sighing, the gardener fumbled with the rocks at his side before moving to look up at Sanji. “Well, this isn't quite how I would have wanted to go about doing this, but yep. I'm a faun.”

“A what?!” He blurted out watching as the gardener grinned at his own feet before bouncing back onto them with ease. The baggy pants he wore made complete sense now as you couldn't even tell he wasn't human unless you looked directly at his feet. Sanji could have sworn he was wearing boots before though. It could have just been that veil thing playing tricks too.

“Sanji...did you read that book I lent you at all?” Robin's scolding tone snapped his attention from Usopp's weird black hooves to the piercing blue eyes of the woman standing next to him.

“Well...yes, I did.” He frowned at her, not completely understanding why that book on Zoro's stupid past had anything to do with...well, whatever it was Usopp said he was. A faun? Like deer fawn? So...he was a deer?

“Goat...actually.” The man chuckled and scratched at the top of his head. Sanji stared at him in horror as the gardener nodded, confirming his suspicions. “Yes, you said it out loud. I'm not a deer. They are something else entirely. We can talk about it over dinner. Come on, before Law eats all my lo mein.”

“You ordered Chinese?” Sanji was glad for the sudden shift in conversation, it was easing his frayed nerves a bit as he watched Usopp scratch around a small circle in his hair and readjust his hat in place. He quirked an eyebrow at the...faun as he nodded excitedly. The chef was glad no one really seemed to care about his over dramatic reactions to this besides him. Maybe they were used to it. He had been told Franky was human as well, so maybe he had done the same thing as he was.

“Master Mihawk said to get whatever we wanted! We all decided on something way different! We got you something too Sanji, hopefully you like it.” The gardener gave him another grin before slinging an arm around his shoulder and laughing lightly.

“But...” he started, then stopped as he took a moment to study Usopp's profile. He didn't look any different than he had before hand, the wide brim of his stupid floppy hat riding low over his hair. Hell he even looked like a normal human. Tanned skin from days in the sun, headphones draped around his neck and slight tan lines over his shoulders and bare chest from the suspenders holding up his dirty pants. His grip around the chef's shoulders was firm but not over bearing and Sanji let it stay as they walked with Robin back inside, thankful actually that the faun wasn't jarring his ribs.

Everyone else was already at the table eating, except for Zoro, who was seated at the far end of the table, opposite where Mihawk was sitting. Perona sat in her usual spot and Law in his on either side of the mansion owner. Sanji and Usopp took theirs and Robin thanked Franky as he pulled out her chair for her. Farther down near Zoro perched Nami and Brook, the three of them seeming to have their own little private conversation as the dragon fed the ravens bits of bread and what appeared to be raw meat.

Law grunted as the faun sat, mouth full of food as he stood and started pawing at the man's head, pulling the hat away and combing through his hair. Usopp yelped and jerked away, smacking the other man in the stomach at the same time he leaned forwards to get his own box of food. Things were way too relaxed for Sanji's liking as Perona handed a box she had been guarding to him and a set of chop sticks. “If you don't mind Mister Tralfalgar, we are in the middle of dinner.” Mihawk's smooth voice flooded the room and the doctor sat with a huff, but nodded in satisfaction anyways.

“I told you I was fine Law,” Usopp spoke around a mouthful of food, pointing his own chop sticks at the dark haired human, who simply shrugged at him. Sanji was only partly paying attention to their conversation in favor of seeing what it was they had ordered him, pleasantly surprised when the aroma of veggie lo mein, same as Usopp, hit his nose. “They just itch.”

“They may for a while. I have just never been there when a sayter got their horns.”

“I'm not a sayter Law, I'm a faun. There is a difference.”

“Yeah, bastard won't eat meat!” Zoro barked out a laugh from his end of the table. The blond choked on his mouthful of food at the horn comment, snapping his gaze up to the doctor and gardener as the two still bickered and poked at one another. Mihawk simply sighed and rubbed at his temples. Perona, headphones in, studied her box and was content to ignore everything around her. Robin was scolding both Zoro and Franky, who were laughing at the dragon's comment.

Was this what a normal dinner was going to be like? Sanji had been horrified at the last dinner that was like this. So many different voices carrying on conversation in all directions, yet somehow, all of it singled back to the same one. People slammed in their own input and left it again, to come back when they wanted. No one really gave a crap about what was going on and Mihawk seemed to loosely have a handle on it. Kinda? Not really. That bastard dragon didn't help anything in the slightest either.

“Wait...you have horns?” Sanji asked wide eyed with a swallow.

“Just got them!” The faun puffed out his chest in a swell of pride. “It's a big deal when they come in, last step in becoming an adult.”

“And yours are late. What's that say about you?” The dragon tossed a piece of meat high into the air, causing both birds to take off, cawing and squabbling over the small tidbit of food.

“Ya know what Zoro,” Usopp turned to him, dropping a hand to the table. “You could, I don't know, show some excitement about something once in a while.”

“Honestly, Zoro-ya, this is an exciting turn of events for our young faun.” Law glared at the dragon coldly and Sanji could just picture him rolling his eyes as he huffed at them all.

“Ah,” he replied simply with a nod. Holding up a hand, the dragon cleared his throat and closed his eye as he took a deep breath. When Zoro spoke again, it was in a mocking high pitched fake tone of excitement. “Oh, well jee-whiz Usopp! I'm so ecstatic for you. This truly is a cause for us all to have take out fake Chinese...” His voice dropped back into his snarly sarcastic tone as he spoke, returning to feeding the cawing ravens in front of him.

“There is no need for sarcasm, Zoro.” The manor master directed his hard glare at the slight less dragon. “Our gardener is excited for this huge mark in his life, you should be considerate of that fact.”

The blind bastard grunted and sighed, turning his white eyed gaze to Usopp. “'M sorry okay? I really am excited for you. I am just worried and I'm placing my aggression at you.” He gave a small bow of his head, once again returning to the ravens. “Something doesn't feel right to me.”

“So you have felt it to?” Robin spoke up, setting her sticks across the top of her take out container and folding her hands in front of it. “I had been so caught up with Sanji getting hurt I thought I had been imagining it.”

“What?” Perona pulled her typical bud from her ear. “You mean the creepy feeling? It's been sending shivers over  _ my _ skin and we all know how hard that is.” She waved her chop sticks madly about, almost hitting Sanji in the face with a chunk of some sort of meat.

“Dudes...what?” Franky spoke up, twisting his head from his wife to the dragon, to the pink haired girl. “What are you talking about?”

Nami spread her wings and cawed loudly, flapping them before settling back down and hopping across the table towards her master. Brook walked his way up Zoro's arm, pecking at the earrings in his ear. The dragon twisted away slightly, but the bird remained. “With everything that's been going on, our... _ keepers _ ,” Sanji didn't miss the pointed glare the dragon seemed to throw at Mihawk. “Decided that myself and my brothers not stay in contact with each other. Early this morning I sensed Phoenix. It was a fleeting moment, I barely recognized it as him, but he seemed sorrowful and determined. Much like myself.”

“Brook came earlier with a note from Koala, mentioning an eery feeling that Sabo had. Luffy was unnerved as well; reading that they set out in search of your brother.” The librarian scratched at her pet as the bird warbled at her touch. “I was actually on my way back from telling Master Mihawk when I ran into you Sanji.” Turning to address him, the blond smiled weakly.

“Sorry if I have been any trouble.”

“Not anymore than anyone else around this crazy place!” Franky spoke up with a laugh, digging back into his food box hungrily.

“So wait,” Law spoke up, dumping his chop sticks in his box and pushing it away. “What's that mean-ya? Should we be preparing for an attack?”

“Possibly,” Robin nodded calmly, offering the black raven a bit of food off her sticks. “Anything is possible right now. I have not felt anything threatening, just an ominous feeling that something is about.”

“Never hurts to prepare.” Zoro stood, flicking the white bird off his shoulder with a hand and moving towards the kitchen doors. “I have some thinking to do.” He didn't wait for anyone to answer before he pushed through the kitchen doors and was gone from the room with out further comment.

“What a day this turned out to be.” Usopp pushed his own food away, scratching at his head once more. Law frowned as he slapped his hand away, once again standing to inspect the faun's hair. “I thought this was supposed to be a happy day.” Looking at the box for a moment, he snatched it back up, digging into it once more.

“Law,” Mihawk spoke, turning his yellow-eyed gaze to the doctor. “Can you heal our chef?”

The doctor held up his hands, displaying the elaborate tattoos. “All out.”

“How long would it take for you to be able to heal Sanji's injuries?” He kept his voice low and calm, the tone never raising or lowering in variation as he spoke.

Law gave Sanji a once over, eyes narrowed slightly as he thought about the question proposed to him. The blond was going to speak, but at this point everything around here was weird, so he kept quiet, trying not to let the steel-eyed gaze of the doctor unnerve him too much. “If Usopp-ya and I go out after dinner...maybe a couple hours?” He shrugged, turning to the curly haired gardener. “If you're up for it-ya?”

“Mmhmm,” he nodded before swallowing. “If it helps, yeah I will go!”

“Heal?” Sanji furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the entire conversation. “I don't understand. I thought it was going to take weeks.”

“Normally that is correct Sanji-ya.” The doctor stood, picking up his box. Adjusting his hat, he gave a sly grin and a low laugh. “But if there is something looming about, we have...other ways of healing you. I just try not to use it when I don't have to-ya.” Turning to his seemingly partner in crime, he nodded. “I'm going to go get ready okay?”

“Yeah, be there in a bit!” Usopp gave a sharp nod, stuffing more food into his mouth. The doctor made his exit as abruptly as the dragon had done and no one even batted an eye at it. Mihawk nodded, returning to his own take out dinner as Perona shrugged and slipped her ear bud back in. Robin and her counter part excused themselves, taking the ravens with them and silence fell upon the room as the remaining people ate.

Usopp finished quickly, gathering up his empty box and sticks before moving to the kitchen to throw them out and back through the room headed to meet Law where ever it was there were going. Mihawk followed suit, excusing himself and explaining how he had some work to finish up before bed and insisted that the pink haired girl go with him. She pouted, but sighed and picked up her box, following him out of the room and leaving Sanji all alone to think.

And all he could think of was how strange this place was and how it grew stranger by the day. At least he didn't have dishes to do tonight...

 


	13. Book One: Emerald

No one bothered to explain Law's...powers? Abilities? Mutations?!...to Sanji so it was a huge shock when he was woken up with a shake of the shoulder by a madly grinning and glowing doctor. Yes, glowing, faintly, but Law was still glowing just the same. “What time is it?” The blond mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes and yawning. Pain bolted down his side from the action and he tried not to wince, but given the crazy doctor's frown, he didn't hide it as well as he would have liked.

“Don't know. I'm pretty tired though, so let's do this so I can sleep-ya?” Law shifted his knee on the bed, the faint light from his body visible even under his clothing.

“Do what?”

A hand to his chest pushed him back into his pillows. “Don't move Sanji-ya. You can't move okay? This is gonna feel...weird.” The dark haired man gave a small grin as he pulled back to roll up his sleeves.

That caused him to sit bolt upright and even as pain jolted through him, he glared up at the dark eyes of the doctor. His little bed side lamp had been turned on, casting darkening shadows over his eyes and across his nose. Law's whole face scrunched in annoyance as he pinched at the bridge of his nose. “What are you doing to do?” Sanji panted out. He hadn't even realized he had been holding his breath till his body forced him to breathe again.

“Heal you. Now, hold still like I instructed.” Again the doctor's hands came to Sanji's chest, pushing him back into the bed again. They held firm for a moment to emphasize his point to not move, before they shifted to his side. Sanji watched in horror, body fighting the reflex to jump away as the blond took in the other man's hands.

The slight glow was coming from his tattoos, the dark black gone to be replaced with a glowing white and the chef couldn't help the yelp that escaped him when a searing heat rocked into his body over his broken bones. Laws eyes flicked to his face before going back to where he was working, a low chuckle deep in his throat. “Wha...what the hell is that?” The chef watched in frozen horror as a spidering of white veins roamed the section on his side that was injured, snaking up and across the bruise left by the dragon's foot, disappearing out of Sanji's line of sight along his neck and collar bone. The heat grew as the light seemed to grow brighter against his body, lighting Law's face even more and darkening the ever present rings under his eyes.

“Move and I could mess this up Sanji-ya. Then I would have to re-break them and do this all over again.” Law's tone was serious and firm, making Sanji not want to move a single muscle. The idea of having to have his ribs broken again not in the list of re-occurrences he wanted. But at the same time....holy fuck?! How much weirder could this place get?! What the hell kind of freak show had he decided to get into? Dragons, a goddess, goat people; fucking some sort of unholy medicine woman? Is that what Law was?

The intense heat dulled away to a warm thrum through his whole side and chest and Sanji found himself content to just watch the white of those tattoos fade to black again, the weird glow from both their bodies fading as well. The underlying pain went away and the glowing fully faded from the doctor as he stood and removed his hands. With a devious grin, Law spoke. “Sleep now Sanji-ya.”

The flick to the forehead was the last thing the blond chef remembered.

 

* * *

 

 

When Sanji woke several hours later, sitting up in bed and stretching, he was fairly certain he was going to just throw away those drugs of Law's. First the dragon invaded his dreams now he was dreaming up the doctor. What else could go wrong around here? Throwing the blankets off and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Sanji was perturbed to find he wasn't in any pain, racking up his shirt to inspect his side.

He sucked in a deep breath at the sight of his pale skin and nothing more. No crazy black bruise shaped like the dragon's foot and it didn't hurt in the slightest when he forced himself to take a deep breath and hold it. Poking at his ribs resulted in no pain either and he was pretty sure the swelling had gone down as well. In fact it looked to be nonexistent. Maybe he hadn't been dreaming? Maybe Law really had been in his room in the middle of the night and that weird glow had been real...

But how? Wasn't Law human too? Sanji didn't think humans had any sort of powers or abilities. Although the doctor had said that he had been the one to help Zoro. Well, that's not exactly what he said, something about being elbows deep in the dragon's chest at one point, but...did some of Zoro's magic rub off on the doctor that day? It wouldn't be all that strange given what he had seen around here the last couple weeks and it would explain how he was instantly healed now.

Standing, Sanji stretched again, reveling in the way his spine popped and there was zero pain to his movements. Whatever the hell happened, he needed to thank whoever or whatever had been involved. In fact, even with how weird this entire thing was, the blond was pretty sure he could get used to this supernatural life style. Though he had no abilities in it other than being able to see things for what they really were, it wasn't all that bad. Sanji found himself wondering who could be from this world that he had encountered over the years as he made his way through his morning routine and left his room for the kitchen.

He wasn't at all shocked by the silence around him, checking his phone had proven it was still early, his internal clock telling him it was time to get up, so he started breakfast planning. Sitting down at the small table out back, he lit a cigarette and flipped through the printed sheets of do and don't from each person on the property. Birds were beginning to wake, their songs filling the garden and somewhere Merry bleated, causing the blond to roll his eyes. Scribbling down quick notes on what to make everyone, he snubbed the butt and proceeded to return inside to begin the prep.

Sanji fell into a rhythm quite easily, cooking always calming him and letting him think about what was going on around him. There was so much to take in and his whole mind was overwhelmed, but somehow with everyone else being so calm to everything, only really reacting to what seemed like important things...for instance, Zoro's brother being killed, it helped relax the chef as well. He was the new item in what appeared to be an old equation, so he was finding it was best to just trudge through and pick up things as he went.

The blond was so caught up in his task at hand, mind running over and calculating everything he had learned, been witness to and experienced since arriving here that the loud clink of glass on his metal prep table caused him to jump and swear under his breath. He snapped his head up to glare at the sound of low chuckling, clicking his tongue in annoyance and rolling his eyes as they fell on Zoro.

The dragon's hair was mused and messy as he scratched at it with one hand, chest still bare and Sanji could only hope that he had pants or something on as he couldn't see from how he sat on the stool he had carried over. The almost full bottle of clear liquid gripped tightly in his hand was the blond's starting point. “A little early to be drinking isn't it?”

“Who said I was drinking? Or that I have even slept yet?” Zoro grinned at him, bringing the bottle to his mouth and taking a long pull off of it. “Cause I haven't. Been up meditating most of the night. I'm hungry.”

“Yeah? And?” Sanji sneered at him, curling his lip in disgust. “What do you want me to do about it?” He watched the white eye for a moment, tracing over the numerous scars across his face with his eyes.

“Aren't you the cook around here? Isn't that why Mihawk brought your smelly ass here?” The green haired man shrugged simply. True, that was why he was hired, but still, Zoro, dragon or no, could wait like everyone else.

“Smelly?” The blond balked. “How dare you?!”

“Relax; I meant the cigarette smell. I can tell it's you half way across the fucking house.” The dragon tapped his nose with a finger. “Actually you are on the list of people who bathe regularly. I can smell that too.”

“This is so fucked up,” Sanji grumbled under his breath, ducking his head to hopefully hide the blush he knew was creeping over his nose. Then of course it occurred to him, Zoro couldn't see him to begin with and sighed, blowing hair off his nose. Why he had to even have an interest in this man, dragon...whatever he was, Sanji berated himself over and over for. But he seemed to have at least a physical attraction to the human form he took, so why let a good opportunity to stare and take in go to waste? Especially when the dragon was letting the miles of sun kissed skin be shown on display like that as he wiped the back of a hand across his mouth.

Huffing the chef turned from Zoro to turn the stove on, placing a pan on a burner to begin heating some olive oil for scrambled eggs. He tried to compose himself as he heard the sloosh of whatever it was the dragon had in that bottle and turned back when he felt a little better and a tad more composed. He couldn't, _wouldn't_ get distracted with him while he was working. He could afford to do so when he was out at the pool in between meals, not here in his kitchen while he was technically working.

Silence filled the air and Sanji found himself forgetting the dragon's presence as he remained quiet on his side of the table. The chef fell back into the dazed mindset of cooking, able to think about other miniscule things while his hands and body worked off of muscle reflex alone. The blind jerk's question caught him off guard though. “Did Law heal you last night? I don't smell the fatigue or pain anymore.” He spoke so calmly, so matter of factly, like the entire situation was an everyday thing for Zoro and perhaps to him it was. Being a dragon and from what Sanji had gathered, a really old one at that; he had most likely been around the proverbial block a time or two. There probably wasn't much that riled the blind dragon these days.

“What?” Sanji couldn't help the dumbfounded look he gave the other. How in the hell would the dragon know something like that? “I think? He must have. It's all very confusing and I was pretty sure I was dreaming, but waking up this morning, your damned foot print's gone and my side doesn't hurt at all.”

Turning his head slightly, Zoro sniffed at the air again. “Yeah, even after your shower, I can smell it. His ability leaves a faint lingering scent. Good. That means we can start training you.”

“Training? For what? The hell? Can't I even make breakfast for everyone?” Zoro simply grunted, taking a sip of his bottle again. It had to be alcohol, Sanji hadn't seen him drink anything but. That couldn't have been healthy, even for a dragon. Or maybe that's what they drank. He honestly didn't know how to feed a dragon properly so they got all the right nutrients. He cut him off as Zoro opened his mouth to speak. “No. If you want something to eat, it has to be something besides fish.”

That seemed to get a rise out of him. Zoro squared his shoulders and the white eye widened slightly as if the dragon wasn't accustomed to being told he couldn't do something before he chuckled and tipped his head. “Touche, cook. What are you making for everyone else?”

“Depends. They all sent me lists of things they like and don't like, so I have something to work from. So far I know you like fish, raw, in your fucking pool.”

The blind man hummed, eye closing in thought for a moment before opening it again and seeming to pin Sanji to place with his sightless stare. How he was able to do that, the blond had no idea, but Zoro had done it multiple times and each time it froze him to the spot. Was it a dragon thing perhaps? “Cook me something you think I would like.”

Chef mode kicked in, overriding the bitter come back he had. “Anything you want me to stay away from? Allergies? Do dragons get allergies?”

Zoro shook his head with a snort of laughter. “I don't do sweet. Other than that, no, feel free to do whatever it is you do. I'm going to take a bath. I will be back for breakfast.” He stood, leaving the bottle where it sat on the counter and walked out. Sanji sighed as he caught the fact the blind dragon was wearing what appeared to be the same black pants from the day before. He ducked out the back door, with a slam of the screen, heading for the pool.

Rolling his eyes, Sanji turned to the pan on the stove and poured in the bowl of eggs he had mixed earlier and set to thinking about what he could make for the dragon. His only restriction was to keep it from being sweet...well that only really took out a few options and still left quite the broad spectrum for him to choose from. Turning the heat on the pan down slightly, the blond made his way into the walk in, scratching at his goatee as he thought about what he could make from what was littered about the large fridge. There was a lot he could do, from elaborate to simple. He didn't see Zoro as the fruit and veggie type like Usopp, or the bacon and eggs type like Franky and Law. All the dragon seemed to care about was fish, fish and more fish. Ugh...this was going to be harder than he thought.

Somehow his mind wandered from food to what Zoro had said about training. What could he have meant about that? He had mentioned before about wanting to spare and see what he was capable of and part of himself had to admit he was looking forwards to slamming his heel into the bastard's face. It was only fair right? After Zoro broke his ribs didn't he deserve a little pay back? The chef also wondered if he was strong enough to actually _hurt_ Zoro in his human form. Not that he really wanted to do so, but he had never fought anything magical that he knew of and there were bound to be tons of questions pertaining to a fight with one.

Before he knew it, the trays for everyone where on that silver cart and Zoro was back, still half naked, but now he was rubbing a towel through his hair with a contented smile on his face. He hummed to himself as he stilled the towel, scratching at his scalp in one spot for a moment and Sanji let him have his little preening time by himself in favor of taking the cart out to the dinning room.

“What'd you make me?” Zoro spoke from over Sanji's shoulder and he almost dropped the tray he was setting down at Perona's spot, actually fumbling with it as the damn jerk chuckled behind him, lifting covers off trays. How did he do that?! Fucker was a silent as a damned fox! That was it. New rule: Zoro's not allowed to walk around bare foot.

“Get out of there! You will contaminate it!” Pulling the cart from Zoro, he continued. “Well, I wasn't sure honestly what to make you. Then I got to thinking how you look like an oriental dragon.”

“Yeah? So?” Crossing his arms, said dragon didn't even seem to care about the fact he was interrupting the blond's explanation on food for him. If anything, he seemed a little ruffled at the comment of how his natural form looked. Were dragons really vein like the stories said? Sanji couldn't help but tuck that little bit of information away.

“So I had to look it up.” He set a tray for Robin an Franky, sliding Usopp's across the table to his spot. “And I fucking hate you.”

“You made me fish didn't you?!” The giddy look on his blind features made Sanji roll his eyes and grin at the same time.

“I had to. It was the only thing I could really come up with. Or find for that matter.”

“Well, which is it? I'm starving!” Zoro asked, practically drooling over the last couple of trays set on the cart still. Sanji waved him off.

“Sit and wait. I already sent a text out to everyone, so they should be here shortly.”

The dragon slid into his seat at the far end of the table silently, smacking a hand against his cheek as he huffed. “I never did understand that phone thing. What's wrong with talking to people?”

“Do you want to be the one to walk around this entire house looking for them? Because I don't.” Sanji set the covered plate down in front of the dragon and kept his hand splayed over the top of it. “Don't touch it you scaly freak. You wait for everyone.”

“You can't tell me what to do cook.” Zoro snorted, but leaned back away from the table, crossing his arms. “They better hurry up then. After breakfast I'm dragging your ass outback. I wanna see what this...savate is all about.”

 


	14. Book One: Emerald

Sanji rubbed at his temples for what had to have been the millionth time in the last hour. He was getting a headache from the same run around over and over again with the dragon. Zoro stood across from him, blinded gaze scowling at him as he huffed and crossed his arms. “That doesn't seem any different that any other form of martial arts I have encountered over the years. What gives you the reason to be so cocky about it?”

The chef bit back the sharp remark he had tainting his tongue and sighed. “I  _ told _ you, you moronic brainless newt. I am not barefoot. That's what makes it different. Why can't you get that through your thick skull? Is stupidity a dragon thing?”

“I am  _ not _ stupid cook.” There was a low growl to each of the dragon's words as he set that pinning glare on him again.

“You're acting like it!” Snapping his hands into fists, Sanji lunged again, running full tilt towards Zoro before jerking to the left, running up and kicking off the tree as he swung around for a wide round house that he hoped would actually connect to the dragon's jaw this time. He had come close a couple times, but always Zoro's arms would come up in that defensive X and would block him. He heard the dragon grunt as the force behind his kick hit his arms square, but he wasn't letting that stop him this time. Moving with his momentum and flipping over Zoro, dropping to his hands and knees with one leg out in a sweeping kick, Sanji grinned when the side of his leg connected with Zoro's calf.

The blind bastard tumbled over backwards, legs swept out to the side from under him and the chef gave a satisfied smile when he heard the thump of his bulk hit the grass. Zoro was quiet a moment, no doubt gasping for air as Sanji moved to his feet, dusting his hands off and grinning smugly down at him. “Fuck you!” Sanji panted down at him.

Zoro only hummed, eyes closed as he crossed his arms behind his head. Sanji watched, broad grin slowly dropping to form into a scowl as the dragon proceeded to ignore him. The bastard even had the audacity to stretch out and get comfortable in the grass, shuffling his shoulders a little. This carried on for several minutes and finally Sanji stomped a foot into the grass, grinding his heel as he did so. “Well?! Do I pass your little stupid test?”

Faster than the blond had ever seen him move before, Zoro's left arm snapped out, catching Sanji in the ankle and pulling his leg out from under him. He was so caught off guard that he flipped back, spine popping in several places when he hit the ground. With a groan he rolled to his side and curled in on himself, only to feel the dragon move, his shadow casting over him. “Pass? Yes. Master of your art style? Not even close.”

“Stupid mud skipper.” Rolling to sit up, Sanji raised his legs and dropped his forearms on his bent knees, squinting as he looked up to the blind dragon. “Hey, I got a serious question for you. And since no one else like to give me answers around here, I would appreciate it if you would answer me.”

Zoro tilted his head towards the sound of Sanji's voice, nodding slightly to let him know he was listening, but he didn't speak. Instead, he dropped into a cross-legged position across from Sanji, hands resting on his own knees as he kept his eyes closed and took a deep breath. “We need to work on your style.”

“That has nothing to do with what I wanted to ask Zoro.” Sanji stated flatly, leaning back and reaching for his cigarettes. Pulling the lighter from the pack, he frowned as he jostled the couple he had left before grabbing one and setting it against his lip. “What I wanted to ask,” he paused to light it, inhaling deeply and grinning at the wrinkled nose look Zoro swung his way. “Well, I wanted you to explain Law's...whatever that is to me. I was going to ask at breakfast, but neither he nor Usopp showed.”

“They were up all night as well. Law also has a tendency to sleep a lot after he's used his abilities.” Zoro didn't bother opening his eye, but his tone was flat as he spoke. No mocking or anything, just simple explanation of the question. “He didn't get them till after we lost him.”

“You...lost him?” Returning his pack to his pocket, Sanji raised an eyebrow. “How do you lose a whole person?”

Zoro shrugged, rising to his feet. “I don't really know. I was still pretty out of it at the time. It was shortly...” He paused, hand rubbing over the long scar across his chest. With a snort, he shook his head, holding his hand out to Sanji. “Come on, on your feet. I can explain his powers themselves, but exactly how he came to get them...you will have to ask Law.”

The blond eyed the hand offered to him for a moment before he reached out, grasping a hold of Zoro's wrist and letting the dragon pull him back to his feet. Rolling his cigarette against his lip with his tongue, he tried not to think about the warmth that crept into his own hand as Sanji nodded and stepped back a couple paces. He gave a small chuckle with a slow shake of his head. “I gotta tell ya, it's really weird to be fighting someone who can't see me.”

“I told you,” Zoro snorted at him, dropping back into some sort of stance Sanji didn't know, bringing his hands up once more. The blond felt his mouth go dry, the bare skin of the dragon's shoulders going taunt under the packed muscles of his body. He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “I  _ can _ see, just not like you do.” He was quiet a moment, a small frown crossing his features. “I do miss the colors though.”

“So you're color blind?” Stepping into his own stance, Sanji pulled the cigarette from his mouth, digging the toe of his left shoe into the grass. Now that was something he hadn't expected. A color blind and sightless dragon. Replacing his smoke, he wrung out his hands, stuffing one hand into his pocket. “You ready?”

“I was born ready cook, come on.” Waving a hand at him, Zoro grinned, welcoming the change back towards fighting. “I don't get to do this much anymore. You are a welcoming change for me.”

The chef stumbled at that, body jerking as he tried to move and halt at the same time. He tried not to read into it, but Sanji couldn't help it. The dragon enjoyed spending time with him? He felt giddy all over and like a foolish teenager at the same time. What the hell was wrong with him? He was an adult, he should be able to handle it when a person made a simple comment and not go overboard with it. Honestly. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself.

With a low growl more to himself than anything, and noticing the slight perk up in Zoro's form as he did so, Sanji moved. He didn't even have to think about the most basics of his art form anymore, much like cooking, letting his body make the movements for him as he drew closer, dropping for another sweeping kick at the last second again. Zoro was on to him this time and jumped back, a wild grin coming over his face as the blond kipped back to his feet and fell into a hand stand to kick out at him while his guard was breakable.

A forearm came up, but Sanji caught the backwards flinch as he finished the kick, coming back onto that foot as he up righted, swinging the other around and not giving Zoro a chance to relax. The dragon stepped back again, turning his foot awkwardly and Sanji caught the slight movement too late as both his hands wrapped around his calf and Sanji found himself on his back once more. Inhaling deeply and eyes wide as he stared up at the smug look on the blind jerk's face, Sanji swallowed and nodded, pulling his cigarette from his mouth again. “Okay, I get it, you're better than me.”

“I just have true battle experience that you lack.” He shrugged, dropping Sanji's leg and crossing his arms. “Anyways, get up. Let's do it again.” Turning he walked over towards where the blond had been standing, waiting quietly. Glowering up at the tree leaves, Sanji finished his cigarette with a frown and snubbed it in the grass, stuffing the butt in his pocket as he stood. “You're holding back,” Zoro stated firmly as the blond dropped back into his familiar stance again. “Don't. You can't hurt me cook.”

“I'm not...” He stopped, voice lower than he wanted. Okay, that would be a lie, he  _ was _ trying to land a decent hit on Zoro, preferably to the face, but he wasn't actually out to hurt him. Well not really. A nice shot to his ego would be great!

“You are.” The new tone to Sanji's voice, the slight mumble of his words, caused the dragon to step out of his stance and drop his arms. With a sigh, a hand ran through the cropped green hair and Zoro shook his head. “Stay here. I can fix this.”

“Where are you going?!” He snapped as the dragon simply waved him off and walked away from him and back towards the house. With an aggravated noise, Sanji spun on his heel and dropped into the chair near the base of the tree, looking around the area. He hadn't even seen this part of the garden till this morning when Zoro dragged him out here, having never had a need to venture to the right side of the path on his way to the pool.

It was a nice wide open lawn, this tree marking what appeared to be the middle of it. A small shed was in the upper corner and the path wound its way across the bottom and along the high wooden fence to the shed. The birds were singing and the sun was bright. Sanji was actually kind of glad the dragon had decided to fight under the shade of the large...oak, it looked to be as he reclined back to look at the leaves above him for real this time.

“Morning!” Usopp's voice struck through the calm and the blond looked up to see the gardener actively waving at him, his little white sheep bounding around behind him. “I found breakfast, thanks!”

“Yeah, sure thing Usopp.” Sanji grinned at that, pleased that he was fitting in even slightly around here and that people were enjoying his cooking. Not that he didn't think they wouldn't.

The curly haired man...faun walked over to him, hands on his hips as he still grinned. “I really appreciate all you go through to make sure there's no meat. The last guy didn't get that. Course he was just an idiot too. Couldn't see or anything. It was really hard to keep some of the normal things we do around here quiet. I'm so glad you can see. It makes life so much easier.” He looked around, Merry stopping a few feet away to chew up the lawn. “Where's Zoro? I was told you two were sparring. I kinda wanted to see that. I haven't seen him fight in forever.”

“Don't know.” Sanji shrugged. “We were, but he informed me I wasn't trying hard enough and walked off.”

“Oh...” Shoulders slumping, Usopp sat in the grass, not a care in the world. He kicked his cloven feet out in front of him, crossing them and moving the top one at the ankle. Sanji took a moment to just stare at his foot, still not over the fact his guy was half goat or something. “I'm sure he will be back. It's not like him to just walk away from a fight, even if it is just practice.”

“Can I ask you something?” Sanji crossed one leg over the other knee, turning towards the other. Usopp nodded as he reached out to pet the live stock, but he didn't speak, so Sanji took that as his que to continue. “What is Law?”

“Law's human, like you.”

“Humans don't glow Usopp.” Sanji said flatly. “Where did you two go last night?”

“Into town.” The faun shrugged. “Law's powers require a lot of energy to use. Normally he keeps...stocked? No that's not the right word, but anyways, normally, we don't have to go out to town to gather the little bit he needs to heal someone here. Of course there normally isn't some impending doom hanging over our heads and we just don't use them.”

“Ugh,” Sanji groaned, running a hand over his face. That still didn't explain anything to him other than the fact that whatever the crazy doctor did to him last night was considered normal around here. “Why does he glow?”

“He's what I have heard called a psychic healer. I know it as a spirit healer, but people these days change the name to everything.” Zoro's voice cut across the yard, catching both men off guard. Usopp gave a yelp as he turned over his shoulder to look at him and Sanji craned his head around to glare at him.

“Why the hell didn't you just say that before?” He snapped, taking in the dragon once more. He was still shirtless and Sanji cursed at himself for the part of his brain thanking the dragon for that, but he was wearing that red sash again, hand resting easily on the hilt of a sword. Sanji squinted at the weapon before it clicked that it was the white one he had seen in his den the other day. “Ah no.” He stood sharply, knocking the chair over as he did so. “I am not fighting you with that.”

“You get to use your real weapons, so do I.” The feral grin that spread over his face caused Sanji to pause. Did he just catch a glimpse of actual canines as well?! The white eye seemed to gleam with the chance to have his fingers on the hilt of that weapon once more. “And this way I can guarantee you are fighting for real. Morning Usopp.”

“Morning Zoro.” There was no difference in the gardener's tone as he got to his feet. “You only brought one?”

“Don't want to break the cook...” He gave another smile, laughing low in his throat. “Yet.” With a chuckle, he continued, completely ignoring the seething rage Sanji was gathering from his spot. “Anyways,” the dragon leaned back on one leg, offsetting his stance as he crossed his arms. “What Law is, is human, like you, but what he can do is gather a life force, whether it be his or another and use it to his benefit. He tapped into it years ago I guess, but managed to truly harness it when working on me. I guess, from what I am told, he just disappeared for about a week or so...”

“Ten days.” Usopp added kindly.

“Ten days, I guess. And when he came back, he was able to do what you saw last night, plus some. I really don't know all the details, he doesn't talk about it much.” Uncrossing his arms, Zoro tilted his head to the side. “Particular smell though, like I mentioned this morning. Oh well,” He shrugged. “Come on cook, let's go. Usopp.”

“Y-yes?” The gardener only now started to show some type of nervousness around them both.

“You need to move if you and Merry are going to be here. I don't want to see either of you get hurt.”

“Oh, right. Come on Merry.” With a nod and a quick whistle to the sheep, the faun walked off towards the small shed. “I got some things I need to attend to anyways with Franky. Maybe if you are still here when I am done.”

Zoro grunted. “I don't plan on letting him rest until lunch time.”

 


	15. Book Two: Sapphire

Sanji swallowed roughly, throat dry as his feet slid back through the grass, fingers of one hand gripping into the short strands to stop himself. He hated having to use his hands like this, but he needed that slight momentum as he used that hand to pull himself forwards, fingers ripping up the grass as he lounged. Rising to his feet as he bolted ahead with a small growl, darting back and forth and trying to throw his position off.

He saw the attack coming, dropping to his knees and sliding on his left hip, biting his cheek and he swore to whatever was out there that if he got grass stains he was going to skin himself a water newt when he was done. The breath of the arc swung over his head at the same time he kicked out, connecting with a bare ankle and then spinning on his hands, kicking up the startled form in front of him. There was a grunt of surprise but Sanji didn't let that stop him, not that he could anyways, momentum carrying him through the attack at this point.

His foot came in contact with a tanned shoulder as he righted himself and his opponent went down, slamming into the grass, the blade falling from an open hand. Zoro never looked pleased with him, even less so when Sanji managed to disarm him, his love of that white sword simply beyond him, but he did nod in acknowledgment. “You're getting better.” He wheezed from the grass, air flooding back into his lungs from his rough impact with the ground.

“Getting?!” The blond snapped, grasping the hand as it was held out to him, helping pull the blinded dragon to his feet. The familiar heat swam through his palm and tingled up his arm. The chef still wasn't sure if it was a dragon thing or his own growing affections towards the other male that caused it. “I just kicked your ass! You didn't even see it coming!”

The dragon snorted at the cook's wording, pulling his hand away and crouching back down to pick up his sword, returning it to the white saya at his side. “Why praise you for your improvement when you clearly are aware of it yourself?”

“I...” Sanji stopped, snapping his jaw shut and glancing up to the late afternoon sun. “Never thought of it that way.” With a shrug he turned, jerking his head towards the manor. “Come on, I gotta start dinner.”

“Your ego is big enough as it is cook. There is no need to encourage it. That will get you in trouble one day.” Zoro followed along with him, grumbling and rubbing at his shoulder.

Sanji smirked as he pulled open the screen door, watching with a lidded expression as the dragon walked through the doorway. “You're just upset I actually hit you today.” Letting the door close behind him with a slam, he wasn't surprised to hear a grunt mixed with a growl and find the dragon disappearing down the stairs.

It had taken roughly a month, but Sanji felt he was finally truly fitting in around here. Every day included some sort of training from someone, mostly either Zoro himself or Robin, teaching the blond chef either the ways of using his sight or fighting. Not that the blind jerk really knew much about Sanji's particular style, but still, he could teach him other things. How to spot a weakness in the way someone carried themselves or how they took their stance. The first time he had taken Zoro down using techniques other than relying on the fact the dragon physically couldn't see him; Sanji hadn't let him live it down for almost a week.

Zoro in his own right was just as resourceful as the blond was, even going as far as transforming into his dragon form and knocking him to the ground with his tail. Sanji had a bruise across his chest at that one, the mark still fading actually, and the blind bastard's deep rumbled laugh still vibrated through him when he thought of it.

When it came to Robin, Sanji was now able to spot several different types of creatures by sight or the certain way their bodies shimmered in the light. He and the librarian had spent a whole day in a coffee shop of the market alley watching people walk by. She had to keep reminding him to close his mouth as he watched time and time again as some...thing he didn't know walked past. Sanji never realized this many different types of creatures walked the world with him and he never even knew it!

Law appeared in the large open room, walking quietly to the smaller fridge and opening it with out even speaking to Sanji. He glanced up, frowning at the doctor, but kept himself to his prep, swiftly and deftly chopping veggies into uniform size for the stir fry he was going to make. There was a hissing pop and the doctor’s hands appeared on the table top, beer in one hand. “What's for dinner?”

“Where have you been all day?” But glancing at his hands, he knew. Law's abilities as they had finally been explained to him fully involved stealing. The designs across the backs of his hands that disappeared under his shirt were a bright white, meaning, for lack of a better way to put it, Law was fully charged. All he had to do was touch someone and pull the life force from them, banking it with in himself and his tattoos until he had enough to be able to heal someone with little to no effort.

The dark haired doctor still refused to tell how exactly he had come to gain these abilities, but Sanji knew first hand how powerful he was and had learned a couple weeks ago sometimes it was better to just simply not ask. He never took a lot, just a simple touch here and there as he wandered his way about the markets or wherever else it was he went. Usually he and Usopp would make a day trip of it and with everything else coming to light, Zoro and Mihawk had practically demanded Law stay charged at all times.

He completely ignored Sanji's question in favor of his own. “You practice anymore with what I showed you?”

“I'm not a telepath,” the cook muttered, wiping a pile of carrots into a bowl.

“Neither am I.” Calmly he took a sip of his beer, voice level and focused. There was a rattle of stairs and Zoro appeared back at the top of them, making his way over and plunking himself down on the stool that had pretty much taken up residency of the other side of the blond's prep table. He leaned over to sniff at Law and both he and Sanji gave the dragon a confused eye brow rise at the action. “Can I help you Zoro-ya?”

“I want a beer.” He spoke excitedly, before wrinkling his nose. “You were at the market all day weren't you?”

“Yes.” Turning the doctor grabbed another beer from the fridge and handed it to the other man. The dragon grinned and popped it open, content to sit on his stool and listen to Sanji work. He had been doing that a lot since they had started working on his fighting abilities and strangely enough, Sanji found it comforting now. They didn't always talk, but on the nights Zoro wasn't there it felt almost empty in the large kitchen.

Damn, he really was falling for the stupid lizard wasn't he? “Cook got me today.” Raising the beer in his hand, the dragon pointed at the blond before tipping it to his lips and drinking heartily from it.

“I did. Anyways, Law, I'm still not really sure what you mean. Control the energy.”

“Is this the chakras thing?” The blind bastard slammed his apparently now empty can to the prep table. “He's better. Still can't do much, but he's working on it.” With out even giving Sanji a chance to explain, Zoro turned towards Law and kept talking. “I'm trying to get him to sit and mediate. Telling him it will help, but he won't do it, little punk's too restless.”

“How can I when half the time you sit there and bother me!?” The blond snapped, slamming his knife to his cutting board and stalking off to get the oil and wok from the other side of the room. Honestly, he didn't know how he was supposed to learn any of this stuff with Zoro as his self-proclaimed teacher. In a lot of ways, Sanji should feel really honored and privileged, and he did, but there where other times where being taught by a fucking dragon was just plain annoying.

“I made headway today though,” the chef grumbled as he returned, interrupting the twos' conversation about something completely different. “I actually managed to kick off the ground a couple times. I'm starting to realize the feel of the energy I need to use in order to do that.” With a shrug, he turned to the stove and set about starting the actual cooking. “It's all still really confusing though and the way you use it and the way you want me to use it are different.”

The conversation carried on through the entire cooking process and Sanji roped Law and even Zoro into helping set the table and with a huff, the moping doctor texted everyone when it was time to eat. Dinner was a lively as ever, everyone laughing and joking, but there was still the underlying hum of being on edge. Who knew what could be lurking about, although the dragon did seem pretty in tune with the surrounding area; or when such a thing might appear.

It hadn't really felt like six weeks to Sanji either, so much had happened and he had learned such a vast amount in such a little time. It felt as if he had spent more time as the manor's chef than the little bit it really was. Everyone had accepted him, well in their own ways and he found himself laughing and joking with Franky, Usopp, Law and hell even Zoro more than he ever thought possible. Perona was still Perona, demanding to be involved with whatever the guys were doing. She did play a mean game of poker though, the one thing the dragon always snorted at, wandering off to sulk in his pool. So they had begun to drag the table out there so the brooding dragon could at least be included in the conversations and drinking.

Mihawk kept his distance from everyone, holing up in his office or the library with Robin, when the demigoddess wasn't demanding of the blond's time. Her history lessons were rather boring, but Sanji had learned more about the supernatural side of the world than he ever thought possible. He'd even been allowed to go to the market with out her just a couple days before hand. Usopp and Law accompanying him as he gathered items for the large household. Experiencing Law's way of gathering his energy first hand was a learning experience as well. A simple touch as he walked by, skin to skin and that was enough. Hell, he was so good at it, that when the chef had questioned him and Law demonstrated on him, he hadn't even felt anything. And he was beginning to realize what to look for.

It was nice to be able to relax a little as Franky and Usopp hauled a table out to the pool with Sanji and Law carrying a cooler full of beer between them as they followed behind. The pink haired girl and the surly bastard followed after that, arm in arm and Sanji felt a moment of panged jealousy at the sight. He still didn't even know if Zoro had any idea he had feelings for him and Sanji really wasn't sure how to bring up the topic. Especially with the way he dealt with Perona. It was clear to the blond something may have been there, but if it went beyond the blind jerk humoring the poor girl or not, he wasn't sure.

Hell, in all honestly, the chef wasn't sure himself if what he was feeling was for Zoro or his human form. There was most definitely a lust for that body, Sanji knew that and the two had gotten rather close over the last month. Of course spending most of your day in each other's company kinda did that. If he had to be brutally honest, Zoro wasn't that bad of a guy for being a surly old supernatural creature, but Sanji still couldn't help but wonder...could it even be possible? Did Zoro even think that way? He had never shown any signs of being interested in anyone besides the basic tolerance he had for Perona, and lately, himself.

“What's that noise?” Zoro barked from behind them and both the blond and doctor looked over their shoulders to the dragon as he drew away from Perona, stalking up the stairs to his pool. Hands went to his hips as he scowled unseeing at the dark water. “Are those....frogs? In my pool?!”

“Dude...” Franky trailed off as he set the table down. The faun muttered under his breath as the dragon practicality snapped mentally.

“Oh hell no!” He shrieked, jumping into the water fully clothed and splashing about. “Out! Out!” A hand snapped out, actually catching one, to everyone's utter shock and the poor creature went flying over the wall of the pool, out into the garden somewhere with a distressed croak.

“Of all the things...” Usopp rubbed at his temples, while shaking his head. “Zoro! Stop throwing them at least! Put them on the edge of the pool and I will take them out of here.”

“They shouldn't be in here!” He barked, tossing another one like it was a rag doll and not a living creature. “This is  _ my _ pool!” The poor little thing sailed through the air, vanishing out into the dark night.

“Dragons are so territorial.” Rolling her eyes, Perona sank into a chair, frowning as she watched the man cause a scene like a small child. It was actually kind of comical, watching what was supposed to be such an old and wise being acting like the three year old who had his favorite toy taken away. Sanji bit at his lip to keep from laughing as he and Law set the cooler down.

“All I wanted to do was play some poker, drink some beer and maybe smoke some dope...” Everyone turned to the doctor, who shrugged. “What? After this...don't you?”

Sanji had to agree with that. “Zoro!” He barked, turning his attention back to the dragon and picking up a bucket he had left out there earlier in the day. “Hey, marimo, listen to me.” That got the blind man's attention and he snapped his head around to glare in the chef's direction, a frog flailing in his hand. “I have a bucket,” and he rattled it to prove it to the other man. “Put them in here...I can cook them...sweet revenge for getting into your pool.”

“I  _ knew _ I liked you!” The dragon grinned from ear to ear, wrinkling the scars across his face as he reached an arm for the item and the blond handed it over, a satisfied chuckle bubbling past his lips as the first frog thunked to the bottom. Sanji was glad it was dark as he felt the heat flash across his nose and cheeks.

Usopp groaned as he sank into a chair. “All I wanted to do was relax. Sanji you can't let him eat the frogs!”

“Shh...” Sitting next to the faun, the cook hissed as he leaned close to him. “I'm not really going to let him eat them, but it stops him from throwing them around the yard. When's he's done, go drag them off somewhere.” The unexpected hug caught Sanji off guard, but that was just how Usopp was, he was learning. He patted the gardener on the back in an attempt to get him off, one of his budding horns jarring into his jaw. “Alright, okay...let's play cards; yes?”

Leaving Zoro to wade about his pool behind them, the others set about playing cards and doing pretty much as Law had commented. He really didn't have any drugs, not that anyone honestly expected the doctor to have them in the first place, but it was comical just the same. They were in the middle of their fifth hand, chips thrown in the middle of the table in a large pile when the grimy and wet bucket thunked down on top of it. Usopp yelped as he was covered in water and Sanji jerked away from there Zoro was practically climbing over him to get the bucket full of frogs on the table. Everyone threw comments at the dragon, complains and grumbles of 'come on!' and Perona's pout of 'I was winning this hand' echoing about the area. With a feral grin, the dragon slammed a wet hand onto the blond's shoulder. “Cook, time to cook.”

“I'm not cooking those now! Do you have any idea what I need to do in order to do that?!” Sanji barked, throwing his damp cards to the table and running a hand through his wet hair. The dragon was still leaning on him, drenching him even further as water seemed to just keep pouring off him. “What the hell....are you really a fucking moss? There is no way that much water can come off one person!”

“Ha ha... no, just deal with it. Come on, I'm hungry, what's the process?” He swung his gaze towards the chef, his face really close and Sanji actually had to jerk his head back before their noses touched. His throat ran dry as he stared into the sightless eye, getting lost in the small flecks of gold he was able to pick out, before shaking his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts.

“Uhh...Well, first I have to butcher them.” Standing Sanji leaned over to peer inside the bucket. There really wasn't enough frogs to make a meal out of, let alone one for a freaking dragon, but he shrugged as he glanced to Usopp, who was quickly turning green. “But like I said, I'm not doing it tonight. It's late and I really am not in the mood to spend all night doing it. I can do it tomorrow after breakfast, okay? In the meantime,” he paused to place a hand on the curly haired man's shoulder, pointedly looking at Usopp as he spoke. Zoro crawled off him as the chef's answers seemed to humor him for the moment, complaining that he was still hungry though. “Usopp, you should take these and put them someplace for me to take care of tomorrow. Understand?”

“Uh...ye—yeah, I got it Sanji!” Jumping up, the faun grabbed the bucket and bounded off into the darkness. With a sigh, Franky and Law began to pick up the cards and poker chips, knowing there was no way Sanji was going to be getting out of going and making the dragon his midnight snack.

“Come on then,” the blond waved an arm towards the house, watching as the green haired man shook his head of water and turned to follow. “What do you want then? Better make it something quick, I don't want to be cooking for your scaly ass all night. You hear me? Zoro!” Turning with a frown, trying to figure out where he lost the dragon in the walk across the garden, he stopped short when he saw him.

The dragon was frozen in the middle of the path, body tensed and alert as he tilted his head back slightly as if sniffing the night time air. He gave a low growl before snapping his head back to Sanji, pinning him with a determined look as that white eye seemed to glow in the night. “Something's coming.” He hissed out in a loud whisper. “I can smell it.”

He suddenly went into high alert. “What?” He asked as he made his way back to where the dragon was standing. “It is Hydra?”

“No, I would know that scent. This is...vaguely familiar, but I haven't smelled it before.” The tone to the blind man's voice was complete seriousness, his need to protect kicking in over everything else. Sanji felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Zoro was never this serious and the way his stance shifted automatically to a fighting one worried him greatly. The chef knew he wasn't ready to handle a real battle yet, not one that involved things that could rile the dragon like it was.

“Law. Usopp. Franky.” Zoro's tone held a commanding air to it as he called for each person and almost instantly the other three where by his side. “Perona,” he started as the pink haired girl made her presence known. She didn't speak but Sanji noticed a vibe about her he hadn't ever felt before, the air vibrating with a tension coming from her own person. The dragon didn't seemed bothered by it in the slightest. “Hang back until we know what we are dealing with.”

“Right.” Pulling an ear bud from her ear, she took several steps back, ducking into the shadows and crouching down. A stillness swept over the garden. The sounds of the night stopped and everything went still. There was no wind to cause the trees to shudder nor any crickets to break the silence. The only thing that still moved were the fire flies, lazy dots appearing and disappearing with out a care in the world. Then it happened. A roar like a raging fire and what appeared to be an actual flame bounded into the sky, almost seeming to fly above the tree tops, the brilliant fires casting shadows about the ground like a mini sun as it began it's decent towards the small group in the garden.

It seemed to pointedly be coming right at them. Raging reds, oranges and yellows licking at the night sky and illuminating everything about the small area of garden. It almost looked humanoid, looking to walk on too feet if it's posture was anything to go by, but it was entirely made of flames. It's decent quick and calculating.

He was too focused on the item above him, having never seen anything like that before. Sanji could hear the rush of the air as it was heated and displaced by the creature falling towards him. The chef could see that much. Whatever it was, it was a living and breathing being. Next to him, the blond barely registered the low growl and the splash of water, the wet tide soaking his shoes once again, as Zoro then roared into the night and lunged forwards in a flash of green scales.

 


	16. Book Two: Sapphire

There was a flare of bright light, as if whatever this thing was was caught off guard before a loud snarl cut through the air from the dragon's throat. There was some thrashing from his tail and the creaking of the high wooden vine covered fence as he rolled against it, smothering the bright light. There really was no contest between them, the blind dragon able to end the fight before it even really began.

By the time what was going on actually caught up to Sanji, though; Zoro and the fire creature were both on the ground, the dragon pinning whatever it was to the dirt. His head loomed close to the flames, the intense heat doing nothing to the giant lizard as he cocked his head to the side to study his catch. “Hey now,” the creature spoke, flames dying to reveal what the chef could only describe as a blond human male like himself. He held up his hands as best he could from under the dragon's claw. “I didn't mean to startle you Zoro; honest.”

All the dragon did was growl, the sound vibrating through the air, and open his jaw in warning. “Wait!” Perona's voice cut through the night as she ran past the rest of them, bumping into an open mouthed Franky to smack Zoro on the end of his muzzle. “Zoro! Knock it off!”

“What?! Why?!” With a huff, he snapped at the pink haired girl in annoyance and Sanji couldn't help but have the hackles rise on the back of his neck. Dragon or no, you didn't threaten a lady. Perona hit him again for good measure and he snorted, pulling his head back and shaking it.

“That's Sabo!” She squeaked, throwing a hand towards the man slowly being crushed under the dragon's foot. “Ya know, Ace's keeper.”

Instantly, Zoro was back in his human form, another large pool of water soaking the ground around them and drenching the new blond. “Oh shit! I hadn't met him. Now I know why you smell familiar.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Standing, Sabo tried to shake the water from his clothes, frowning at his drenched attire before looking back to the blind dragon. “Ugh, I hate being wet!”

“Sabo!?” Franky barked out, the first of them to recover from the shock of seeing the small skirmish. Not that it could really be called that. There really was nothing like being pinned to the ground by a dragon before you knew what hit you. Sanji should know. “What in the hell are you doing here!?”

Sanji knew he should have been shocked, honestly he did, but nothing actually surprised him anymore when it came to this crap and so with a huff and a cross of his arms, he kept his guard up and waited. The name sounded familiar and it took him a second to realize that Sabo was one of the names used when they had been talking about Ace, Zoro's murdered brother. Why though, was he here?

The blond gave a shrug, lighting himself on fire once more, the blaze lighting the area and throwing all the shadows back several yards behind them. After only a few seconds, he let them die down once more, patting out a small flickering flame that lingered on his shoulder. “I came to see Zoro, if you must know. I have some things I wanted to ask.”

“Ya could have knocked ya know!” Perona smacked him on the arm and the blond frowned at her before bending to pick up what appeared to be a bo staff. The long thin pole stood about as tall as he was as he slammed one end into the grass with a wide grin.

“More fun to come in this way, besides, I didn't think you would all be out here. It's late!”

Sanji could just picture Zoro rolling his eye given the sound he made by clicking his tongue. “We can talk later. Come on, let's go make food. This guy's harmless, if not annoying.” Turning the dragon stalked by and with a raised eyebrow, the blond chef simply watched him walk away. Pausing, he looked back at him. “Well cook?”

“Yeah, I'm coming.” He gave a sigh and followed, leaving the others to deal with the new comer. “Shouldn't some one get Master Mihawk and tell him?” He asked as he caught up to the dragon. The grunt of an answer wasn't what he was expecting and Zoro refused to talk about it further as Sanji asked him.

Robin was coming through the kitchen door, her face one of sure purpose as the two opened the screen door. Raising an eyebrow at them both, Sanji jerked a thumb behind him, already knowing she knew. “He's in the garden with Franky, Usopp, Law and Perona. This one here,” And he jerked the same hand at the dragon, who was padding across the kitchen barefoot towards his stool. “Demanded food, so here I am instead of being out there.”

“Sabo has his moments, but he is not the one I am worried about. Is he alone?” The librarian glanced over to where the cranky lizard was pulling a bottle out of the fridge and it struck Sanji as to when exactly he had put it in there, before turning back to the dark haired woman.

“He seemed to be. Wait,” he paused as it hit him. “Shouldn't there be two more? What were their names?”

“Luffy and Koala,” Slipping passed Sanji, Robin spoke quietly. “Would you be so kind as to make something for him please Sanji? If he is here alone, there is a chance he hadn't eaten.”

“Even if the others are with him, there is a chance he hasn't eaten.” Zoro grumbled from the other side of the room.

“What should I make him?” Calling out over the slam of the screen door, the historian didn't answer him and he turned back to Zoro with a sigh, who was holding the glass bottle to his lips and casually drinking from it. “So,” he started, walking over to his side of the table and putting his hands on it. “Before food, answers.”

“To?” The white eye narrowed slightly, but Sanji ignored it. It wasn't the first time he had held food in front of the dragon in order for him to get information and Zoro seemed to hate it. The glare he was getting was proof of it and the image of him thumping his tail on the floor like a pissed off cat struck him.

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he took a deep breath. “What is Sabo? Humans don't tend to burst into flames. Besides, he doesn't give off the human vibe.”

Zoro answered in typical cryptic dragon riddle. “When you are the  _ keeper _ ,” and the chef noted the bit tone of the word. “Of a fire dragon, you have to be immune to fire.”

“That doesn't tell me anything Zoro.” Sanji stated flatly. The blind jerk simply shrugged at him and tapped a finger on the table top. Sanji got the hint. Yes, even if it didn't help, the bastard had answered his question. Time for him to pay up. “Fine, what do you want?”

Sanji watched as the dragon opened his mouth to take a deep breath and speak, but the screen door slammed open. “Sanji! Food!” Both men whipped to look at the sound of the new and unfamiliar voice. Zoro snorted and rose to his feet, but all the blond could do was stare open mouthed before a body slammed into the chef, knocking them both to the ground. Laughter echoed around the room as a heavy weight crashed down on the blond's chest, making it hard to breathe.

“Oi!” Zoro barked, hauling the other person off him effortlessly by the back of his pants, throwing him to his ass as he glared down at him. “You I know! You smell just like Ace, you must be that golem thing he created.”

“Yep.” The happy go lucky voice sounded and Sanji caught a nod from under a mess of black hair. “I'm Luffy. Usopp said the cook was Sanji. So Sanji, make me food!”

“Really?” The dragon sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Thanks,” Sanji sat up, hand rubbing across his chest to try to ease the pounding of his heart. Golem, that was a new one to him. He'd never encountered one of them in the market before. Standing, he actually took in the sight of the man grinning at him on the floor. He looked human enough, but Sanji was quickly learning, lots of things took on a human appearance even though they were far from it. Shaggy black hair and bright dark eyes, his only clothing was a pair of black shorts that ended right around his knees. His chest, stomach and arms were molted colors, giving him an earthy appearance, but it greatly reminded the blond of cooling magma, the reds, oranges and blacks blending flawlessly across him.

Luffy stood, dusting off his hands and keeping the large grin on his face. “What are you making? Can I have meat? I like meat. Lots and lots of meat!” Throwing his arms out over his head, he laughed loudly, the sound echoing around the open kitchen.

“How are you...” Zoro trailed off, shaking his head and scrubbing his hands at his face. “This is why I never made anything like this. This right here. I mean, come on, he's only been in here for three minutes and I'm annoyed.” Pointing at the golem, the dragon spoke to Sanji.

Sanji ignored the brooding dragon in favor of trying to get the new comer from sifting through his cooking equipment. “Luffy? That's your name? What kind of meat do you like? I have a munch of different things...” He trailed off as a hand was waved at him, the shifting red and oranges catching his attention.

“Any kind! I'm not picky as long as its meat! I like meat!”

“Yes, we got that.” The tone of the dragon's voice was beyond annoyance at this point as he tipped the bottle back once more.

“Why don't you just leave.” Sanji curled his lip in frustration at the dragon. “I know what you want. I can make you something and bring it back to you. Go see what Sabo wanted you scaled pest.”

“One of these days I'ma make you eat those insults cook.” Zoro rose from the stool, dragging the bottle across the prep table as he did so. “I will be in my pool.”

“Bye Zoro!” Luffy waved frantically, one of Sanji's sauce pans in his grip.

“Good, go. Out!” Sanji waved him off, grabbing the pan from the golem. “You! If you are going to be in here, you sit on that stool and don't move.” Pointing to where Zoro was just sitting, he flinched at the slam of the screen door, before sighing and running a hand through his hair. He hadn't signed up to babysit a fucking rock creature. How did he get stuck with this again?

The prep of Zoro's snack, which ironically was the easy part, Sabo's meal; to which Luffy informed him, the hotter the better and the warm colored rock golem's meat, took a lot longer than it should have. It seemed like every few minutes, he was stopping to make sure Luffy wasn't wandering around the kitchen causing trouble. As it was, thanks to this thing's brute strength, he was going to need a new can opener, colander and he was hoping Franky and Usopp could rebend his table so the indented hand prints were gone. Or well, at least they could bring the table back to a flat surface, the blond hoped.

He didn't trust Luffy to not eat all the food there, as the man sat and drooled in his spot as he rinsed off several large fish for Zoro before throwing them back in a metal prep pan. That being the last of it, Sanji crossed his arms, keeping a watchful eye on the creature across from him. “Now, listen. We are going back outside. You touch anything on this tray I'm carrying before I tell you and I will make sure you starve, hear me?”

There was a small whine. “You're a mean cook Sanji!” But still the golem followed along quietly. The group in the backyard had dwindled down and the chef wasn't quite sure where they had all gone since none of them walked through the kitchen. Unless they did it at the one point he was in the walk in, but that was very unlikely.

Zoro was indeed in his pool, floating lazily on his back, like the damned scaled otter he was, immediately dropping in the water and swimming to the edge when he heard and smelt Sanji approach. The blond didn't even blink as the dragon shifted to his natural form, picking up one of the fish and crunching down on the skull with ease.

Robin sat with Sabo at the still set up poker table, but everyone else seemed to have vanished. Luffy bounded over to the blond man, jumping at him roughly the same way he had attacked Sanji. He seemed ready for it though, laughing along with the hyper creature as he yelled about how Sanji had made him food.

“I made you some coffee, Robin.” Sanji said quietly as he set the tray he carried down. Instantly Luffy jumped on the pile of random meat the chef had cooked, dragging the plate off the tray as he walked off to sit by the pool with the dragon. Looking back over his shoulder at them both, Sanji turned his attention back to Sabo and the librarian. “And I wasn't sure what to make you, but Luffy said you liked spicy, so I ended up making a simple curry dish.”

“Oh, wow, thank you.” The blond bobbed his head in thanks, taking the bowl from the tray and picking up the spoon that lay near it. “We haven't had a truly home cooked meal since before Ace...” He stopped, his breath hitching in his throat, before he cleared it and continued. “It's greatly appreciated Sanji. Robin tells me you are a brilliant chef.”

Sanji could feel the swell of pride in his chest, not only was he being praised for his cooking, but by Robin no less. With a grin, he sat on the empty lounge chair, pushing aside the extra towels of Zoro's that pretty much lived out there. “It was my pleasure,” he nodded, reaching for his cigarettes and lighter.

“Where were we?” Robin asked, picking up her cup and sipping at the hot coffee. “You were just telling me about Koala.”

“Yes,” The new comer set his bowl back down with a swallow. “She should be along tomorrow. She had one last place she wanted to check out and it was actually easier for her to do so on her own, but there has been no sign of Sapphire, even now with everything that has happened to Ace.”

“He will arrive when he wants. He's always been like that.” There was a loud smacking sound as the dragon proceeded to talk and chew at the same time. “And don't smoke out here cook, you're gonna stink up my pool.”

“Bite me.” Sanji inhaled his first drag as he stuffed his pack back in his pocket. “I'm outside and I will take the butt with me.” With a flick of his tail, Zoro splashed water all over the lounger, drenching the chef and Sanji heard the distinct hiss of his smoke getting ruined. “Zoro!” He screeched, jumping up and wiping water off his face. “You stupid useless lizard! I swear!”

“Don't smoke out here.” His tone held one of finality as he ripped into another fish, the sound of flesh being torn apart filling the silence. Luffy laughed as Robin sighed.

Sabo was silent a minute as the blond chef sputtered and he ate his food. “Do you think he will come here Zoro?” His voice sounded somber. “Do you think he's even alive?”

“Phoenix is very alive. That much I know. He was never one to hide his presence like Ace or myself have.” With an exaggerated swallow, Zoro changed back, a loud splash of water his only warning. Resurfacing in the pool, he shook his head and swam to the edge where he pulled himself out of the water to sit on the edge of the cement. “What he decides to do though, that I can't answer.”

That answer seemed to be good enough for Sabo as he nodded again with a small grunt. “So, do you think Master Mihawk would mind if we stayed here for a bit?”

“I don't see why he wouldn't. Perhaps it would be best to continue this conversation over breakfast; yes?” Robin set her mug down with a small smile. “I am sure Sanji would like to get some sleep as well, seeing as he had a long day.”

“I am fine, really.” He smiled at the odinson. “It was nothing we normally don't do. In fact, I actually got the better of him at one point.”

“Yeah yeah,” Standing with a groan, Zoro walked over to his chair, smacking a hand against Sanji's face as he sat behind him. He threw a leg over the seat, the blond barely ducking out of the way and settled back against the wood frame. “That's good though, means you're getting better. And you have that basic control over your chakras too.” Crossing his arms behind his head, the dragon tilted his head so that his blinded eye faced them, the white a very bright contrast to his tanned complexion in the darkness. “Maybe we should get Law to join us.”

“Yeah!” Sanji turned to look back at the dragon with a wide grin. “That would be great!”

“Wait... join you doing what?” It was Luffy, licking his plate, that asked. “I wanna play! What are we playing?!”

“We aren't playing golem,” Zoro snorted as he turned his unseeing gaze on the rock creature. “We are training the cook here to fight so that when the inevitable happens, he will be able to protect himself.”

“I can fight!” The golem flexed his arms, the bizarre myriad of colors shifting black on his arms and across his chest. It shone in the moonlight like obsidian, drawing Saji's attention to it instantly. Why did he have to keep coming in contact with such strange and bizarre creatures?

“Luffy,” Sabo kept his voice quiet as he placed a hand on the creature's shoulder. “We know you can. May we join you?” He asked, moving from his companion to look past the chef to Zoro. “It's been a while since we have had a chance to test our fighting abilities against someone we didn't know. And I think it would be good for us to try our luck against the element of water, don't you agree?” Turning back to Luffy, the man gave an avid nod, his messy hair falling into his eyes as he did so.

“Fine by me. Cook?” The dragon toed him in the ass with his bare foot. “What do you think? Think you can handle a little fire and lava?”

“I deal with you on a daily basis don't I?” Smacking the foot away, Sanji stood. “Yeah, I'm game.”

 


	17. Book Two: Sapphire

Breakfast was so much more lively with the addition of two more people. Sanji, with the help of Usopp and the guidance, if it could have been called that, of Zoro, set out a large buffet for everyone to pick and choose what they wanted. Usopp got his fruit salad, Law his bacon, Zoro his fish and Luffy all the meat he could handle. Which was a lot. Honestly, the blond wasn't sure how one golem could eat that much. Then again he wasn't sure how much golems ate to begin with. If they even really needed to eat from the look Sabo gave him when he sat down next to him at the table. There was orange juice, pomegranate juice, for Robin and Mihawk, milk for cereal, tea and coffee.

Perona sat down with her typical bowl of sugar and marshmallow filled breakfast, but Sanji did note the small bowl of fruit salad and the glass of orange juice she added today. Maybe he was finally beginning to get her to understand the need of a balanced meal. “Shoo!” She waved a hand at Nami as the bird cawed loudly at her before snapping up a piece of her cereal and walking her way back down the table towards her master.

Franky all but threw a handful down by himself and Robin, the two birds squabbling and cackling to each other over the tidbits. Luffy laughed at the scene and offered a piece of his meat, to which Brook took, before ripping the whole sausage from his fork and flying off towards Zoro with his tasty prize. Dropping it in front of the dragon's plate, the white raven fluffed his feathers and cawed loudly at him. “Yes, Brook,” Zoro reached out, scratching behind the bird's skull. “I see.”

“How can you?” Luffy spoke up, mouth full of food. “Sabo said you were blind. Ouch!” He snapped his attention over to Sanji, who kicked him under the table. “What?!”

“Don't talk with your mouth full!” The blond barked, gaining a chuckle from not only Law, but Usopp and the fire human as well. In fact, Sanji realized he really wanted to find out exactly what Sabo was. His could see past the veil, he knew that much as he could look at the other blond and one moment his eyes would be blue, but the next they would be a solid black, but for the rest of him, he wasn't hiding what he naturally looked like. All Sanji could figure was that, like Zoro, Sabo had the ability to shift forms as he saw fit.

The mossy bastard paused in scratching at the raven to tilt his head towards Luffy. “I can see, just not like how most people can.” Then he returned to ignoring everything going on around him in favor of the bird in front of him.

Usopp scratched at his ever growing horns. “Hey, thanks for breakfast Sanji!” The clear joy the chef caught on the faun's features caused a fleeting smile to cross his face.

“You helped. Thank you.” With a shrug, he dug into his own breakfast, enjoying the simplicity of eggs and bacon as well. Only he had toast with his, unlike Law, who seemed to hiss in distaste when ever the chef mentioned bread to him. Maybe he had a wheat allergy or something. It hadn't been mentioned in the email, but Sanji found the crazy doctor tended to avoid anything that had to do with bread.

“Why exactly did you come here?” Mihawk directed his question at Sabo and the man turned to face him. He blinked calmly and Sanji some how got the impression these two were on equal ground, despite the new blond calling him 'Master' like everyone else. The way it had been explained to him was that each of the groups had an appointed leader of them, so while Mihawk was the leader of Zoro's keeper team, Sabo was Ace's. Not that anyone could really control a dragon, but that was an entirely different matter. “I thought you were looking for Sapphire?”

“We were. We can't find a single hint of where he could be. So we came to the next best source.” He pointed down at Zoro, who was still ignoring everyone around him, feeding bits of fish to the ravens from the end of his chopsticks and talking to them quietly. Sanji shook his head; still not fully able to wrap his head around the fact that the dragon was able to talk to and understand the birds. Robin he kinda got, knowing the lore behind her kind, but the dragon just confused him on a regular basis. He should have been used to it by now, but Sanji was far from it.

“No.” The manor master replied firmly, the need to explain exactly what they wanted Zoro to do not missing him. Of course this left Sanji in the dark, but what else was new around here. He vaguely recalled the dragon saying something about knowing where his brother was though at one point, but that it had been a fleeting moment and Zoro had barely had the time to identify it, let alone do anything about it.

“Isn't it my choice?” Zoro spoke up, finally showing an interest in the rest of them and setting his chop sticks aside with the raise of an eyebrow. “Don't I have a say in whether or not I want to even track down my brother?”

“You will lead Hydra right to you if you open yourself to that.” Mihawk started firmly, pushing his plate away and picking up his glass of juice. The dark red of the pomegranate swirled like blood in the bottom of his glass. “Is that what you want?”

“Than I won't do it here.” The dragon's voice was flat, holding no tone to it at all as he kept his sightless gaze locked on the manor owner. His face was unreadable, a blank mask that gave no clue as to what he was feeling underneath and a silence fell about the room as it grew uncomfortable for all who were involved. It reminded the chef greatly of one of the first few times they met. That dark almost brooding like feeling tingling through the air. “You can't stop me though and you know it.”

“Zoro,” Mihawk growled, setting the cup back on the table. “This is extremely unwise.”

“So was locking us away and not letting us fight him.”

“He almost killed you!”

“We are stronger when we are together! Or we were!” The dragon slammed a fist to the table, leaning forwards as he did so. Both birds took to the air, flying and cawing loudly around the room before returning to the back of their master's chair, wings spread and their calls echoing loudly. “Who's idea was it anyways? Which _human_ decided to rip us apart and keep us from one another?! Didn't you think we suffered enough with what happened to him?”

“If you three were so powerful together then how come you didn't stop him when you had the chance?!” Mihawk's voice stayed low, but the tone became so edged Sanji was pretty sure he could have used it to cut with.

“He's my brother!” Zoro practically shrieked, his blinded white eye going wide at the disbelief in the other's tone. Even with being an only child, Sanji could see where the dragon was coming from. To ask someone to cut down their own brother was pretty extreme, even for a dragon.

“Stop!” Perona's voice cut through the air as she slammed a fist to the table top rattling everything that was on it. “Both of you! Just...stop. Please.” All eyes turned to her and she bit at her lip to stop the quivering. “We can't protect him forever and you know it!” Her dark eyes swung to the man to her right, but Mihawk wasn't looking at her. He was still glaring at Zoro, who's gaze had shifted to the pink haired girl, the hint of a frown marked across his mouth. The scars across his cheeks and nose stretched as the downward turn of his mouth grew.

“And Zoro!” She went on, turning to face him as she stomped her foot. “You can't...” Her voice trailed off into a whimpering hiccup and Sanji turned to grab at her hand as he swung a glare towards the dragon. It wasn't that he was even mad as Zoro, for once, but Mihawk he still barely knew and it wouldn't have done any good to get pissy with his boss.

The dragon's chair fell over backwards as he abruptly stood, the sound, even though muffled by the carpet, jolting everyone in their seats. “I'm done. Perona, we will talk later.” And with that he walked out of the room, shouldering through the dinning room doors and heading down the long hall.

“The answer is still no.” Mihawk said to Sabo as he stood as well, following in the direction the dragon went, but Sanji was pretty sure he was headed for his office and not the quick tempered creature. The last thing everyone needed was the two of them getting into some sort of fight in the hallways. The blond chef had in idea of how strong the dragon was in this form and could only imagine how powerful the Manor Master was as well.

“Well,” Law spoke up after a minute of tense silence. Even the birds had fallen silent at this point. “That could have gone better-ya?”

“Shut up Law!” Perona snapped, kicking at him under the table before she got up and stormed off, slamming the screen door so hard they heard it echoing from where they sat.

 

* * *

 

 

Sanji sat at his small table under the cover of vines out behind the kitchen. Merry could be heard with Usopp in the garden, but beyond them and some birds it was fairly quiet. Smoke drifted lazily from his cigarette as it hung from his lip, the blond's mind elsewhere as he poured over a new cook book he had gotten his hands on in the library.

The rest of breakfast had been a total nightmare, each person leaving in awkward conversation and Luffy scarfing down anything and everything he could get his grubby little paws on. And he was still hungry after wards! Sabo had only shrugged before dragging him from the kitchen for the chef.

He wasn't sure if there was even going to be any sparring today given the heavy conversation at the meal, so he had made his way to get his book, promising to bring it back after writing down a few recipes he could try. His mind drifted to the heated argument between the scaled lizard and his boss. There was some definite hate there, but whether it was directed at Mihawk as a person or his family Sanji couldn't say. Whatever it was, the man was dead set against the dragon using whatever connection they seemed to share in order to find the remaining brother. Even now did the final brother share this ability that the dragons seemed to possess?

Sanji wanted to know more about this connection Zoro and Sapphire seemed to have though. It had been said it had been blocked at one point and the chef wanted to know if it was something the dragons could turn on and off at will or if there was some trick to it. Was it similar to the chakras thing he was learning? Any information he could get on learning this new technique would be extremely helpful.

Speaking of that...closing the book, the blond pulled his cigarette from his mouth, frowning at how he had pretty much let the whole thing burn itself out. Tossing it into the can, he stood and made his way out into the garden and towards the open yard and the tree that had become the central area for his training.

He spotted Merry, the white of her wool bright against the green grass, the door to Usopp's tool shed wide open. With a shrug, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and wandered across the grass and stepped onto the path. “Hey, Usopp,”

There was a yelp and a crash, the sheep bleating loudly as she bounded across the grass and the gardener tumbled out of the shed in a heap with some shovels and a rake. Barely catching a spade with his hand, the faun tilted his head back to look up at him. “You startled me! What's up?” Ever happy-go-lucky, he threw the item aside and rolled over, getting to his hooves and dusting off his hands.

“What happened at breakfast?”

Usopp frowned at Sanji as he bent to pick up his tools. “You were there. You saw it.”

“Yeah, but explain it to me.” Toeing the rake, he kicked it up and caught it easily. “What I took from it was that Zoro and his brothers have a mental connection, right? And this Hydra can pick up on it? Like a homing beacon? And that Master Mihawk is dead set on the bastard _not_ using it.”

“Something like that.” The curly haired man shrugged, stepping back into the small room to put his tools away. He reached out a hand and the blond handed over the rake. “It's like dragon radar. Something they can turn on and off, even though I'm not really sure how. After Zoro's attack, Mihawk said no more using it. That's how he found Zoro in the first place. Must be Ace to, since that's who Zoro said he was talking to before the attack. We hadn't moved here yet.”

“That makes sense and also why he's so upset about that mossy bastard wanting to use it to find Sapphire. Their real names have something to do with it too right?”

“Yeah,” Usopp closed the door behind him, crouching down to pet Merry who had wandered back up to them. “It's like a calling card. When you speak their true name they can sense it. Speak it enough in one spot and it will actually hone in on the general area of where it's being spoken. That's why everyone has such a bad reaction to saying their names. And thus the code names.”

“You mean Zoro, Ace and...?” Sanji trailed off and Usopp shrugged.

“Emerald, Ruby and Sapphire.” The faun replied. “No combat practice today?”

“Naw, looks like that's out given breakfast. Maybe after lunch I can convince Law and Zoro to come out here. I kinda want to work on the chakra stuff more. Finally getting the hang of it. Sucks too, I really wanted to fight with Sabo and Luffy. What the hell is he anyways? He looks human, but his fucking eyes go all black!”

“Zoro didn't tell you?” The gardener frowned.

“Well he did, in typical riddle dumb ass dragon style. Told me you needed to be immune to fire in order to be around a fire dragon.” With a roll of his eyes, he crossed his arms and shook his head. “Like I didn't know that already.”

“Sabo's a fire elemental. And Luffy is a golem.”

“Fire elemental?!” The chef balked. “Holy hell! That's so cool! No wonder he can just spontaneously combust!”

Usopp burst out laughing, pointing at Sanji and wheezing out something he thought sounded like 'your face!' The blond frowned but didn't reply till the faun managed to control his laughter. “Sorry...just, you got this look on your face like you were almost jealous.”

“Well, that would make cooking easier! Think about it!” Sanji threw his arms wide and grinned at the gardener. “I wouldn't have to rely on the ovens. I could just charbroil anything I wanted by lighting myself on fire. Do you think Sabo can do that? Wonder if there are any famous chefs who are elementals?”

“Probably.” With a shrug, Usopp ran a hand through his hair, then replaced his big floppy hat on his head. “I have to go do some weeding. You are welcome to join me if you want.”

“Naw, I have some lunch stuff to finish prepping and I have to finish going through that cook book I found in the library. It has some awesome dishes in it, more suited for this crazy ass little crew we have here.”

“Oh, well okay! Have fun then. I will see you at lunch okay?” And with that the gardener walked off, calling to his sheep as he went. Sanji watched the two of them go, Merry walking quietly next to the curly haired faun like she was a damned dog and the two vanished around a large bush.

The blond made his way towards the pool, fully expecting Zoro to be there as that seemed to be where he always was, but the water was still and calm, no sign of him anywhere. Sparring really did seem to be out today and Sanji found himself disappointed in that. He had gotten used to spending his afternoons in the presence of the annoying moody dragon and he was a little concerned how one day's change in what had become new routine bothered him.

Maybe he was down in his den, holed up in the back of the Roronoa room sulking. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he should go down and see, but then Sanji remembered the last time he had done that and he really didn't fancy having his ribs broken...again. Even if Law could heal him with his strange glowy powers. That caused him to pause...since when had all this become normal to him?

With a huff and a roll of his eyes, Sanji made his way back towards the small table where he had left his book, lighting a new cigarette along the way. He was just about to round the corner to the covered patio when his name being called made him jump. Sabo was sitting at the table, quietly flipping through the cook book. The other man didn't even bother to look up at him as he spoke. “How is he? Truly. I am told you spend a lot of time with him.”

“Who?” The blond sat down in his previous chair, raising an eyebrow at the elemental. “Zoro? Um, okay, I guess. I haven't been here very long.”

“You fight with him.” He looked up to the chef and Sanji could see those black eyes, full and seeming to reflect the small amounts of light that made their way through the leaves. He could even see the reflection of the cherry end of his smoke. “You learn a lot about another being when you spar with them.”

“He's holding back then.” Sanji shrugged, tapping ash into the tray. “He tells me to come at him with everything I've got, but I know he's not doing the same. Hell, just the other day he only started actually unsheathing that damned sword of his.”

“They are very old you know.” The tone of the other's voice was very somber. Sabo was open to talk, that much the blond could tell, but Sanji knew he was also looking for answers. Answers perhaps he didn't think he could get from Mihawk. “All four of them. Ace used to talk to me about it. What time was like before Onyx.”

“Hydra?” Sanji asked and got a nod in return. “I have gotten bits and pieces of that. I read some book that gave an account of how they came to be and how they got their names, but it doesn't go into what actually happened. Zoro's pretty quiet on that front, but honestly I think a lot of that has to do with Master Mihawk.”

“His family has been involved with the dragons a very long time. He knows a lot as it has been passed down. It was his duty to protect Zoro from what happened and he failed.”

“I'm pretty sure Zoro is capable of protecting himself. He has this weird knack for knowing where everyone is and claims he can still see everything despite being blind. He refuses to explain it. He's pretty reluctant to openly share much about himself. You can get pieces and try to string them together, that's what I have been doing. Like breakfast. He's obviously very pissed at Master Mihawk about something his family did.” Sanji sighed before taking a long drag off his smoke. He could feel the toxin burn into his lungs and held it a moment before leaning back and exhaling towards the vined roof. “Well, you seem to know something I don't, so let's hear it.”

“Do you know of how he lost his sight?” The other blond leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.

“A little. Again, bits and pieces. Something about Usopp's family getting killed and a fight with Hydra.”

“Ace and Zoro had been talking, communing with each other through their link in an attempt to find their brother. This was also how we learned that Onyx was still able to feel that connection with the others. Usopp's family had only been a unfortunate distraction for the true target.” Sabo frowned as he closed his eyes, no doubt in Sanji's mind as he replayed that night the chef had heard about before.

“Zoro?” Sanji questioned, snubbing the half burnt stick in the tray.

“Zoro.” The fire elemental confirmed with a small nod.

 


	18. Book Two: Sapphire

“We weren't actually there.” Sabo started with a deep sigh. “Myself, Luffy and Koala had been with Ace, almost half way around the world at that time. Some one had decided that keeping the dragons as far away from each other as possible had been a wise decision. Sapphire would have no part of it and as soon as he was able, he took off, leaving his group behind high a top a mountain somewhere. No one has seen him since.

“There was no way we would have made it in time, so we began to fortify our home instead. It took some convincing, but Koala and I managed to get Ace to stay put. She challenged him to create Luffy actually; now that I think about it.” He scratched at the back of his head, a small smile ghosting over his hard expression. “Anyways... Both Zoro and Ace lived, as Zoro does now, in a place surrounded by their element or close too it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a volcano impenetrable?”

“No,” Sanji shook his head, frowning at even trying to wrap his head around such an idea.

“Well neither do I!” Throwing his hands in the air, the fire elemental let them drop back into his lap with a smack. “That's how he got in. That's how he managed to get the surprise on us and kill Ace. And, like Mihawk, it's my fault.” With a sigh, Sabo dropped his shoulders. It was clear to Sanji this struck him deep and as much as he wanted, there was no way for the chef to even begin to understand how he felt.

“Was Ace not capable of defending himself?” He asked, trying to keep the conversation going. Anything he could get would be helpful in his understanding of not only Zoro, but the four dragons, which seemed to be some sort of crumbling corner stone to this side of the world. Every time he got a bit of history, Sanji was amazed at how different this side of the same world was. All this had been going on for generations, same as what he learned in school and not once had he ever heard mention of any of this beyond what he read in the occasional, what he thought, was just a make believe story. “Was there something wrong with him too? Like Zoro being blind?”

“No, that's the thing. Ace was just as strong as Zoro, if not stronger, but their little brother is cunning.” The fire elemental tapped his temple. “He used the night to his advantage and drew Ace out into the darkness alone. Much like he did with Zoro.” Sabo shifted in his chair, a deep frown across his face. “Zoro and the others were staying near a large pond just outside a wooded area. This was Usopp's village, a small group of fauns who took care of the woods and the water that the dragon had made his home.

“They came in the dead of night, lighting fire to the houses and uprooting trees. From what I have been told, Zoro woke to the smell and the screams, racing off to protect the village from whatever harm had come to it. Being of water, the fires didn't bother him too much; besides, houses could be rebuilt, trees replanted. It was the faun he was trying to save. The few living beings he was after. Trying to protect them from whatever had come to harm them.”

“He never made it did he?” Sanji asked quietly, his mind drifting back to the first couple of meals he had been here when Usopp and Zoro had had that small argument about him not being able to protect his family. The way the dragon still seemed to be beating himself up over it. “That's when they all died isn't it? Usopp's family?”

“The same night.” Sabo nodded. “When Hydra attacked Ace, he came upon him like a fog. Swirling thick and black and enveloped him completely. I can only assume something similar happened to Zoro, but why he didn't end up killing him, we still don't know. All we can think is that he thought he had. His wounds were extremely fierce from what I have been told. Not that the scars differ from the tale.

“It was actually Law who found him, a drifter at the time, on his journey to gain his powers and he decided then was the time to put them to the test. He was able to heal the scratches over his eyes, but not return his sight. When Perona stumbled upon the two of them, the doctor was piecing him back together, the large gash across his chest near fatal.” The fire elemental swiped a hand across his own chest to emphasize which scar Sanji already knew he meant.

“Law had said he had healed Zoro. But, if Hydra thinks Zoro's dead, what's the problem with saying his real name?” Sanji wrinkled his nose in confusion. The name Roronoa like a well kept secret that one only spoke under harsh whispers in the dead of night. Although, the chef figured even that was pushing it if the looks not only Robin, but Zoro himself had given him were anything to go by.

“Since I'm not dead, he will hear it.” The dragon's voice cutting through the still air startled them both. Sabo turned in his chair and Sanji snapped his eyes to the green haired man. His sightless eye was on them, scowl deep as those earrings chimed with the movement of him tilting his head slightly. “I was wondering where you had gone cook.”

“I could say the same to you.” The blond watched as the other man stood, practically knocking the chair over as he turned towards the dragon. Sanji idly thumbed at his cigarette box, watching with interest the way Sabo reacted to the stupid beast.

“I wasn't trying to cause any trouble this morning Zoro, I just think...” Sabo stumbled over his words, the cool confidence broken for a moment.

With a grunt, the dragon cut him off. “It's fine. Mihawk's just like that.” Waving a hand dismissively, he turned his gaze back towards Sanji. “We doing this today cook?”

“Well, yeah,” The chef didn't even need him to explain that Zoro meant sparring. It was an everyday thing now. Sanji actually looked forwards to his time alone with the dragon. Fighting and feeling the dull burn in his muscles after wards. The chance to openly gawk at him and not get caught was great too; even if he wouldn't admit that out loud. “I gotta make lunch first though now, since it's getting late.”

“Be quick about it.” Turning, the dragon walked back towards the walkway where he had come from. “Sabo,” Pausing he looked over his shoulder to the elemental, who seemed to stand a bit straighter without even realizing it. “With me.”

Sanji watched as the two walked away, Sabo almost jumping to fall into stride next to the dragon as they rounded the corner. He could hear the sound of their voices but he couldn't make out what was being said. Contemplating whether or not to smoke the other half of his cigarette that still lay in the tray, the blond decided against it with a shrug and got up to prepare lunch.

The chef settled on a spread of sandwiches, the left over fruit, the couple bags of chips that Usopp had proudly brought home a couple days before and an assortment of drinks. It wasn't his fanciest meal ever, but he didn't want to get on the salamander's bad side today either. It wouldn't do to piss him off anymore than he already was.

Returning back to the gardens, Sanji made his way out to where he assumed Zoro and Sabo would be, excitement already beginning to course through his veins when he saw the two of them squaring off in the middle of the field. The fire elemental was ablaze, the reds, oranges and yellows flickering as he stood poised to strike. Yet, he was amazed to see that the grass wasn't charred around him. Each step seemed to leave it as lively and green as it had been before Sabo passed over it.

It was Zoro that caught really his attention though. The blind dragon had his sword drawn, the white saya leaned against the near by tree as he paced back and forth. His sightless gaze seemed to be locked onto the other and his head shifted to follow him as Sabo moved back and forth. There was a tension in the air that made Sanji stop on the path to just watch. A slight shine rose off his body from the sweat that trailed over his bare torso, even as the shade of the tree left a dappled look on his dark skin and a pang of jealousy hit him. Sanji hadn't even been able to get Zoro to break a sweat like Sabo seemed to be doing. It was possible it was from the fact that there was fire involved, but some part of him highly doubted it.

They were just on a different level than he was and it hit Sanji pretty sharply that maybe he wasn't as advanced as he would have liked to think he was... That maybe Zoro was just toying with him right now. Training him, yes; but not truly fighting with him as the chef had been hoping. It was clear to him that Zoro was doing just that with this newest addition to the manor.

Sabo moved in a flash, a high jump into the air with a  _ whoosh _ of his flames, causing Zoro to frown as he tried to figure out where the sound had moved to. Several feet into the air, the fire elemental killed his flames, spinning his bo staff in both hands before beginning his decent. He was utterly silent all of a sudden, the only clue to his whereabouts a shadow on the ground. There was no way the dragon could see that, his weird sight or no.

Zoro on the other hand was hardly moving, head tilted towards the ground as he seemed to be listening to what was going on around him. From what Sanji had seen himself in the past, that was exactly what he was doing, his weapon held up in a ready pose for an attack. Sabo fell faster than Sanji thought he would, given how he seemed to almost float the night before, dropping towards Zoro like a stone, his weapon arcing over his head to strike.

The clash of metal sounded loudly around the garden, the sound echoing off the house behind Sanji as he watched. The silver blade came up blocking Sabo's attack effortlessly, and a tanned arm snapped out to grasp a hold of his shirt as Zoro twisted on his feet to avoid the length of the staff that would have connected with his shoulder.

There was a curse as the elemental tried to rip away, kicking his leg out to try and trip the dragon up as he pulled the staff back to use as leverage in an attempt to get free. Almost carelessly, Zoro pushed Sabo back, releasing his hold on his shirt in favor of continuing his turn and swinging the sword in a wide arc meant to cut deep. A yell caught in the chef's throat as he watched in stunned horror as the white weapon bit deep into Sabo's side. “Son of a bitch!” The other blond yelped, jerking his whole body from the weapon as he burst into flames again. “Zoro!”

“What?” Finishing his swing before standing back up, the dragon grinned broadly as he cast a raised eye-browed expression at the literally flaming man. “You're fine.”

“Still!” The elemental snapped, hand going to his side out of reflex. With a sigh the flames died out and the two stepped towards each other as if nothing had happened. Sanji finally moved, jerking into motion as he walked out into the grass towards them. “Hey Sanji,” Sabo greeted him warmly, clapping him on the shoulder when he got close enough. “Lunch done?”

“Yeah,” With a quick nod, he glanced to the hand on his shoulder, shocked at how normal it felt. Sanji had just literally seen that hand ablaze not thirty seconds before and right now it seemed as if he was never even part fire at all. He raised an eyebrow at how calm the man seemed as well. Like he hadn't just almost been sliced in half by a blind dragon. Oh hell, what was he saying...nothing around here was normal. He didn't even know why he tried to make sense of things half the time anymore. “All I have to do is bring the tray to the pool if you want to eat out there Zoro.” Sanji jerked a thumb over his other shoulder.

The dragon padded quietly over to the tree where he picked up the saya and sheathed the sword, holding it tightly in his hand as he lowered it to his side. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the chef watched as Zoro rolled his shoulders, the muscles rippling smoothly under slick skin. Sanji realized too late he had licked his lower lip, pulling it into his mouth as the stupid lizard turned to face them again. He didn't know if Sabo caught the action or not. If the fire elemental had, he didn't say anything.

Perhaps to him this was normal. There had to be relationships between species right? Races? What did you call all these different creatures and peoples anyways? Mentally Sanji deadpanned and rolled his eyes. There was nothing normal about being attracted to a fucking dragon. Nothing.

Yet here he was, standing in the backyard of his boss's house, practically drooling over some one who was who-the-hell-knew older than him and contemplating if a relationship was even possible. Man he was seriously fucked up in the head...

“Hey!” Sabo jarred him in the ribs, bringing him back to the moment and pulling him from his forming fantasies. His drug induced dream came back to him fleetingly and he sighed.

“What?” He asked, rubbing at his side and scowling at the elemental.

“You lost cook?” The dragon sneered, shouldering past him, on purpose, Sanji might add, and chuckling quietly to himself. “I told you to bring my lunch to the pool.”

“What else is fucking new?” The chef grumbled, gaining a confused look from Sabo. “Yeah alright ya scaled newt. I will be out in a couple minutes okay?”

“Go down into the cellars and get me a bottle of sake too.” With a wave of his hand, the dragon walked off, the stones of the path not even seeming to bother his bare feet. Sanji watched him go, only snorting and rolling his eyes when he rounded the corner into the pool.

“I will help you bring him his food if you want.” Sabo offered, voice low and calm as he turned from watching as well to Sanji. “Sorry if his foul mood is being taken out on you.”

“What? Naw...he's always like that with me. Partly why I give it back to him. Guy's just a jerk.” With a shrug, the chef started towards the house, not bothering to wait to see if the other man would follow, for some reason he knew Sabo would be there.

“Zoro, along with Ace and Sapphire have been through quite a lot in their long lives. I wouldn't so much as say the Southern Water was a jerk as...bitter. He used to be quite a pleasure to be around from what Ace had told me. Always laughing and joking, drinking or sleeping.”

“Well he hasn't stopped sleeping or drinking.” Pulling open the screen door, Sanji held it long enough for the elemental to grasp the edge of it. “But unless he's making fun of someone else, mainly me, it seems, I haven't heard him laugh. I supposed being basically a glorified prisoner here has something to do with it.”

“Master Mihawk certainly does...limit what he thinks Zoro should be doing. I can agree there.” Coming to stand at the edge of one of the prep tables, Sabo rested his hands on it and frowned down at the indents from where Luffy had dented it the night prior. “I am sorry for anything Luffy does as well. Golems are tricky to control, even when their creator is alive.”

Sanji shrugged again. “I kicked him for it. But he does seem very happy-go-lucky for something that was created. You said...Koala, was it?; challenged Ace to make it?”

The other blond hummed a 'yes.' “We had to do something to get his mind off of the world around him. He never said so, but somewhere I think part of Luffy's personality is what the Eastern Yellow was like before darkness took him. A younger and simpler time for them all.”

Pulling open the walk-in door, the blast of cold air hit Sanji as he let the other's words sink in. He guessed something like that would make perfect sense. Model a creation in the image of something you had lost. He knew the green brute seemed to always be mourning what his little brother had been, so why couldn't Ruby had done the same?

The tray of fish was cold on his fingers as he wrapped them around the lip of the pan, kicking a foot against the door to open it and stepping back out into the warmth of the kitchen. “There are plates in the fridge behind you with everyone's names on them. Would you be willing to grab your and mine? We can eat out there with him.”

“That...that doesn't bother you?” Pulling open the door, Sabo made a disgusted face and paused as he searched for the items labeled with the appropriate names. “Zoro eating?”

“Ace eat fish too?” He had to chuckle at that. The dragon's manner of eating in his natural form had taken some getting used to, but Sanji hardly noticed it now.

“No, deer. Whole mostly. Ace was much larger in his natural form than Zoro is. Was rather disturbing.” With a shudder, he closed the door, holding two plates in hand.

“I have gotten used to eating out there with him. Normally we start training after breakfast, break for lunch and continue straight till I need to start dinner prep.” Setting the pan of fish on the counter closest the cellar, Sanji trotted down the stairs quickly, grabbing a bottle of the alcohol Zoro kept in one of the other wine cellar rooms and jumped up the stairs with ease. “You don't have to though,” he added as he picked the pan back up. Balancing the bottle in one hand and the tray on his knee, he pushed open the screen door and held it with his foot as Sabo walked through with the plates.

“I don't mind. I had grown used to seeing it, even if I didn't like it with Ace. I can just keep my back to him while I'm eating.”

Sanji laughed as he let the screen door slam shut behind them. “As that useless reptile would say: It's the sound. He likes hearing their skulls crunch in his jaw. Guy's got issues.”

The fire elemental simply shrugged. “He is a dragon after all.”

 


	19. Book Two: Sapphire

Sanji was seated in one of the loungers by the pool. He had his cook book in one hand, a note pad in his lap as he jotted down ideas and ingredients he would need for meal planning over the next few days. The arrival of Sabo and Luffy, although easy to incorporate into meal times, put a strain on what he had already had stocked around the kitchen and Sanji would have to head back to the market several days sooner than he originally wanted.

Granted it really wasn't a big deal, but it just meant that he was having to take an afternoon from training sooner than he had initially planned. It didn't stop him from spending that time out at the pool with Zoro as the two would still talk and work on different things Sanji needed to learn still. Occasionally the dragon would take this time to relax as well, swimming in the pool and sunning in the chair next to him.

The chef watched as Zoro pulled himself from the pool. The sun glinted off the water as it cascaded down his body, trailing over every defined cut of muscle on it's course back to the pool. As always, the dragon was naked, only today the blond was seated in just the right place. He couldn't stop his eyes as they trailed over the tanned flesh, taking note of the lack of tan lines anywhere on the other man. The green haired dragon had no shame either, not that he really needed it.

The body he chose was built to perfection, every dip and curve of muscle so precise Sanji's mouth watered just thinking about it, let alone looking at it. The V-shaped indents led temptingly straight to his groin and even though the chef had his head tilted as if he wasn't staring, he most certainly was. The blond knew the water of the pool was cold, but even still, the dragon was impressive, thick flaccid length nestled in a tight curl of green pubic hair.

He bit his lip to keep the whimper back as Zoro carelessly swiped a hand across his chest and shoulders, removing extra water that clung to him before shaking droplets from his hair and stretching. Arching his back as he rocked up on his toes, arms out over his head before bringing them back down to his sides. This was the same pattern he did every day and every day Sanji felt the stirring of lust deep in his gut. The chef knew the power in that body, had fought against it numerous times and yearned to fight it in other ways. To outlast the beast and make each other come undone in the most intimate of ways.

Feeling the blood start to shift south, Sanji honestly wasn't surprised, even if he knew the faintest of red would splash over his cheeks. This most certainly wouldn't be the first time he had gotten hard over the other man. In fact the chef found it happened quite often and even once or twice the dragon had been the front of his fantasies while in the shower, the bizarre drug induced dream like some sort of unreachable fantasy and he craved more of it.

Shifting the cook book in his lap slightly, Sanji watched quietly as the dragon padded over to him, the slight sway of his hips leading the blond's gaze until he stopped at the end of the lounger next to him. Zoro bent slightly at the waist, lowering his arm as he picked up one of his many towels and sniffing as a trail of water dripped off the end of his nose.

He paused then, his fingers just barely grasping at the white towel before he tilted his head towards the chef. The white eye seemed to penetrate right into his very core and the spike of want that washed through Sanji was anything but helpful. The dragon didn't speak as he smirked, a small raise at one corner of his mouth before he dropped the fabric and turned to Sanji, walking the two steps to stand in front of the lounger he was seated on.

Feet squared and hands on hips, Zoro's manhood was directly in Sanji's line of sight and a swell of want flooded into his own groin at the thought of getting such a tasteful glance without having to be so secretive about it. His own cock twitched in his pants, the blood in his body easily heating and flooding south. The pages of the cook book bit into his fingers from where he gripped the paper harshly, trying in earnest to keep calm and composed while the dragon's blind eye gazed down at him.

“Ya know,” he started, not caring as those muscled arms moved to cross over his chest, the long thin light line of the scar becoming partially hidden from view. Sanji suddenly wanted to taste it, to run his tongue over the dips and grooves of the marred flesh and feel the ripple of that body under him. “Have we ever _really_ talked about my sense of smell?” The dragon furrowed his brow with a small dip of his head.

_ Oh shit! _ The blond paled, clearing his throat as he uncrossed and recrossed his ankles, hoping and failing to hide his rapidly growing erection. “I have no idea what you are talking about you stupid lizard.” He tried to make his voice sound calm and faked flipping a page in his cook book, a show as if the dragon was interrupting him from his meal planning.

Zoro wasn't buying it from the snort he gave and the slap of his bare feet on the cement as he stepped closer. “I can tell who most people are by scent alone. Everyone gives off this...unique combination of smells, easily identifying them. You smoke, for example, and there is always the lingering hint of burnt tobacco about you. But...other things give off exclusive pheromones as well.” Sanji didn't miss the words used as he eyed the dragon, his shadow falling over the blond as he moved closer, leaning down to him to speak quietly. His tone was deep and husky like always, but there was something almost...playful in his words that wasn't normally used. “In other words,” the dragon purred quietly and Sanji caught the hint of sharp canines behind the devious grin on his face. “I know what you want.”

“You do?” Fuck is the words didn't come out choked. Clearing his throat again, Sanji shook his head. “I think you hit your head a little too hard off the bottom of your pool.”

“Stop lying.” Grasping the cook book and the note pad in one hand, Zoro threw them over his shoulder before moving to straddle the blond in the lounger. The dragon settled his weight onto Sanji's thighs, hands bracing for support on either side of the back just above the chef's shoulders. Leaning down, he nosed his way under Sanji's chin, breath hot against his neck as he worked his way towards the blond's ear. “Simply tell me.”

The chef made a noise low in his throat as his hands slowly found their way to Zoro's waist and he could feel the heat under his fingers. It almost burned the pads of the digits, but Sanji found himself not caring as he tipped his head back and to the side, letting the dragon claim his throat and neck however he wanted. Thick fingers that the blond knew were anything but clumsy worked open the buttons of his shirt easily; deftly as hands pushed under the fabric to run up his sides.

The dragon hummed against pale skin, shifting his hips back as he kissed down his neck and over his collarbone, thumbs flicking over the blond's nipples. The thrill that ran through him shot straight to his groin and Sanji could feel his hardened dick tighten the front of his pants. Zoro was becoming hard himself, the rub of one another against each other shorting the chef's ability to think momentarily.

How had it come to this? He was simply sitting here and now he had the dragon, the center of his wants and seemingly hopeless dreams in his lap almost begging him for more. His voice came back and Sanji's resolve with it as he moved a hand to wrap around the thick length of the dragon's arousal. “You.” The word hitched in his throat as Zoro moved to replace his thumb with teeth, nipping gently at the risen bud. “Ever since I first saw you, even though I've tried to deny it.”

Zoro groaned into Sanji's chest, rolling his hips into the blond's hand and moving his hands quickly towards his pants. There was no need for awkward first times, Sanji had become so used to seeing the other naked, that it was only fair that he did as well. Eagerly he bucked his hips up, grinding against his own hand, frowning as the dragon moved away to pull the pants down enough to expose him. His own hard on sprang free, coming to rest on his belly as the dragon came to rest on his thighs once more.

Despite not actually being able to see what he was after, Zoro found his way to Sanji's length, wrapping warm fingers around him and applying the same amount of pressure to him as the blond was to the dragon. The contrasts in their skin was so amazing to him, the paleness of his own and the deep rich caramel tone of the dragon's blended perfectly together.

Sanji only craved move. He wanted to twine fingers and taste every inch, needed to grope and move and grind against the other man and become one in all the wrong ways. His free hand moved up the dragon's back, finger nails biting hard into his shoulder as Zoro pressed their erections together. The chef moved his hand from the dragon, giving into the blissful feeling of being slowly jerked off by the other, knowing Zoro was stroking them both as he did so. The heat of his body flooded around him, overtaking everything else. It burned into his skin where ever they touched and the blond found himself short of breath already.

Arcing his back into the touch, a moan escaped him and he bit his lip before another could join the first. Both hands wandered the perfection that knelt over him, but he almost lost it when Zoro kissed him. The rush of lust that jolted his body and the low thump of blood that all came from his cock had him dangerously close to that edge.

Never had the blond been so aroused so quickly, but he really didn't think on it too hard as that tongue slipped into his mouth to claim him there as well. What would it be like to be the lover of a dragon? How would their relationship change? Would it truly change? Eyes fluttering closed, Sanji brought a hand up into the wet hair, tugging at the strands as he rocked his hips into the quickened pace of the dragon's hand. “Sanji...” Zoro spoke lowly as he broke the kiss, moving once more to nose at his throat. That was it, he was done, committed to every feel his body wanted to give him. Sanji gave himself over to the dragon, content to let him bring him to his high as the other man saw fit.

“...Sanji...” he muttered again and the chef groaned low as he shifted against the lounger, trying to get closer to the dragon as he pulled him down wanting to feel his still wet body against his own. Trying to brace his foot on the wood, Sanji's foot slipped, jarring both men slightly, a deep growl like noise coming from the dragon. “What the actual fuck cook?”

There was a smack as a towel hit him in the head with enough force to rap it off the back of the chair. “What?” Shaking his head, Sanji blinked, dragging the towel off his head. Near by the dragon had his sightless gaze on him, eye narrowed as he looked at him in shocked confusion. There was an undeniable tightness in his pants and the blond quickly shifted his cook book and note pad in his lap as he rolled slightly to one hip.

“The hell you thinking about?” The dragon hissed, dropping into the lounger next to him and stretching out, thankfully a white wet towel bunched over his crotch. Shifting his shoulders slightly, he turned his head towards the sun.

“I miss something?” Law looked up from the journal he was writing in, the doctor having been finishing up some work as he patiently waited for the chef to finish his own. The two were supposed to work on his chakra training this afternoon under the eyes of the dragon, who at the moment seemed more interested in a nap. Leaning forwards onto the small card table, that they had left out there, the steel eyed man raised an eyebrow at them both. “What'd you do Sanji-ya?”

The blond cleared his throat, running a hand through sticky damp hair. “Nothing,” he whispered, ducking behind his book as he raised it once more. Fucking shit! Zoro snickered next to him and when he snapped his gaze to the lizard, he simply grinned, tapping the side of his nose, as if that would explain everything. Unfortunately for Sanji it did. He knew damned well what that movement meant. Same as in his little day dream, Zoro most likely could smell the lust and sex on him. Was he really so obviously?

“Wanna tell me who it was?” The dragon's grin stayed broad even as he closed his eye and his arms went behind his head to make a pillow. “Or are you gonna keep me in the dark.”

“You're always in the dark...” Sanji grumbled, tapping his pencil on the note pad as he tried to remember what he had been reading. Something about brazing meat and caramelizing onions.

The stupid newt hummed next to him. “Clever.”

“And no, I don't for your information.” The blond frowned down at his book, the recipe actually meaning nothing to him as his mind tripped back into what type of caramel he really wanted to be tasting. Had nothing to do with onions and more to do with moody dragons.

“What are you two talking about?” The doctor set his book down and sighed, running a hand through dark hair and messing up his hat. His tattoos glowed white almost all the time now, at Zoro's request, as he fiddled with the item to set it back in place on his mop of messy black hair.

“The cook's...oof!”

“Shut up you jackass!” Sanji snapped, smacking Zoro in the shoulder with the book. “It's none of your business. Law's either!”

“You're in my pool! It is too my business!” The dragon barked back, not even bothering to look at him. The two brooded silently for a moment before he huffed a sigh. “Pervert.”

“Oh my god!” Sanji groaned, letting the book fall onto his notepad with the thwack. “I wasn't even  _ in _ the pool!”

“You are sitting in my favorite lounger though.” A scowl marked the dragon's features. When he bolted into a sitting position it actually startled not only Sanji but Law as well. “Oh hell no! You get out of that chair right now!”

“What?!” The doctor almost whined. The tone of his voice clearly displaying his want to know what this private conversation was all about.

“Out!” Standing, and to Sanji's horror, although he knew it would happen, the towel hit the cement, displaying the dragon in all his naked glory. He couldn't help it, the chef's eyes drifted there almost instantly before his world went sideways and he bounced his head off the concrete making his teeth rattle. “You are not jerking off in my chair!”

“I wasn't going to!” Pain exploded in his head, but the chef ignored it in favor of glaring up at the dragon as he righted the wooden pool chair once more. With a huff, he crossed his arms and nodded to himself.

“What the fuck Zoro-ya!?” Law was at Sanji's side, fingers running through the hair on the back of his head. The chef could only think that he was looking for blood as his skull had just made a very loud cracking sound. “Why would you do that?”

“Don't turn this around on me! The cook's over here reeking of sex and it's my fault?!” The dragon's voice actually rose an octave, the slight hitch to his voice not going unnoticed.

“What?” The flat tone of the doctor as he looked at Sanji was all he needed to hear. “That's what this is all about? Seriously you two are pathetic.”

“I didn't  _ do _ anything!” Grabbing at his towel again, he threw it in his chair before Zoro turned and snatched up his pants, roughly pulling them on before stalking towards the door of the pool area. “Whatever. I'm going to nap in my den today. Just teach him something Law. Something useful.” And with that the brooding bastard was gone, leaving the doctor still frowning at Sanji.

“What, pray tell; is wrong with you?” Getting up, he pulled Sanji to his feet. “Stand still, I want to make sure you don't have a concussion.”

“I feel fine Law.” Sanji rubbed at the back of his head, pulling his fingers away to look for blood. There was none, which he kind of figured since he wasn't witnessing the doctor jumping around. Law didn't really seem the type to freak out under pressure though. A light flashed in his eyes and he pulled away, snapping his eyes closed and pushing at the little flash light. “Shit that's bright.”

“Let me see.” Fingers pried his eye open against his will and there was a grunt as they moved to do the same with the other. “Okay, pupils are dilating normally. I'm going to keep an eye on you this after noon. It really is a good time to focus on your chakras, the calming energy flow will be good for you.”

“Nothing is calm around here.” Bending down, he picked up his book and notepad, frowning as he slipped the pad of paper into it as a book mark and placed it on the table near the doctor's things. “There was no need to flip me out of the chair.”

“Dragons are territorial. I'm sure somewhere, whether Zoro-ya even realized it or not, he took it as a threat. You are in his pool after all, as he said. I just hope she was worth it to get that sort of reaction out of him.”

“Yeah,” The chef muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets and shrugging as he looked over to the now still waters of the pool. He could see those stupid marimo moss balls floating lazily about under the surface. The mental video of Zoro swimming lazily about that first time Robin had sent him out here to “see” the other man played through his head. “ _ She. _ ” He spit out bitterly, knowing damn well it was a 'he' that plagued his thoughts.

“Either way, let's go.” Law gathered up his things and shouldered his bag as he turned for the doorway. “I have something I want to try with you today. It came to me after watching Sabo-ya the other day.”

“Oh?” Jogging to catch up to Law, he glanced over at the black haired doctor, a broad grin on his face. Anything he could learn to help have Zoro take him more seriously, Sanji was game for. All he really wanted was to prove to him that he was capable of taking care of himself. After just now, even more so. He was a fool to think he could get away with shit like that while the dragon was right there. Of course he could smell it! What had he even been thinking? Oh yeah, that's right...what it would be like to be actually carrying out one of his little fantasies. He was thankful Law seemed to drop the topic easily. Sanji really wasn't in the mood right now to discuss the possibility of having any type of relationship with anyone with him. His head was pounding too, that didn't help anything.

“Yes. You have gotten really good at using the energy of your body in your kicks. I can tell when you use it and when you don't. Zoro-ya can too, despite what he tells you. You are getting quite strong and quickly Sanji-ya.”

“Would a compliment hurt him once in a while?”

“He doesn't compliment anyone easily. Know what I got for saving his life? 'Why weren't you able to restore my sight as well?' It's just how he is-ya. You need to learn to read his tone of voice and body language over what comes out of his mouth.” The two spoke as they made their way to the tree and the large open yard. Law unshouldered his bag and set it down under it. “Anyways, you can also manipulate your energy into the air and things around you.”

“I'm listening...” Sanji crossed his arms and waited for the other man to continue. “How?”

“Take what you already know and instead of trying to expel it in an attack, use it to push off with.” He reached a hand out, fingers open and pointing towards the ground. With a simple twist of his wrist, the doctor suddenly was holding one of Usopp's rakes in his hand, the item seeming to materialize into his hand.

“The hell was that?!” Sanji barked, staring wide eyed as the other man set the rake on the ground.

“I used the energy to push it. Well pull it in this case. You will learn to use yours to push.”

“Push off what? The ground?” The chef frowned. Here they went again, talking in riddles and trying to teach him things the hard way instead of simply explaining what they meant.

“To start; but anything really. Even the air itself. If you can master that, the rest will fall into place.”

 


	20. Book Two: Sapphire

“Well; yes. What else would it be?” Law frowned at Sanji like he was dense. The chef felt pretty stupid honestly. He was so sick of these round about ways of talking it was ridiculous. Zoro's constant, 'you need to know the answer before I ask the question' bullshit was beyond grating to his nerves and now Law was starting in on him again. Where was Franky when he needed him? The crazy grounds keeper was the only one who ever spoke plain to him, even if every sentence was littered with 'dude,' 'super' and 'bro.'

“How?” Sanji toed at the rake at their feet, frown deepening to a scowl as he looked back to the doctor.

Law gave him a flat look before dropping to the grass into a cross-legged position. Oh good, we were going to start another afternoon of training by focusing energy and meditation...cause Sanji was so good at that. With a sigh, he followed suit, sitting in the grass and kicking off his shoes before crossing his feet easily. The doctor took several deep breaths and Sanji followed suit, really not calming down any but knowing he needed to try.

He really hadn't gotten the hang of this meditation thing and even Zoro had noticed that the more riled Sanji was the better he seemed to be. He could be cool and calculated when he wanted, but he thought on the run, made split second decisions as he darted forwards or back, changing his game plan with every kick he threw. Law just didn't seem to understand that. The constant going back and forth between teachers made his body ache and his mind weary. Sanji furrowed his brow as he thought that maybe it would be wise to sit them both down and just make them get on the same page with not only one another, but him. That way he knew what was going on as well.

Even as Law began his monologue of mumbled chants about breathing and feeling the flow of energy, Sanji took a tip from the water lizard and focused more on how the healer's voice interrupted him. How this slow shit was crap and how he would rather be up and moving. None of it was really a lie and even after a couple of breaths there was a hum in his body as his muscles tensed with wanting to move and his whole body began to feel like a wound coil, just waiting to snap.

It wasn't hard since Law's voice really was getting on his nerves anyways and Sanji ground his teeth, really wishing he had a cigarette. Dropping his hands to the grass, he dug his fingers into the wet dirt, feeling it under his nails and getting more riled by the second. The chef's self control was thin to begin with and using the dragon's technique was making it stretch that much more. To the point that Sanji didn't even fully realize he had lashed out at Law till after wards.

With a growl, Sanji twisted his hand, using the grass as leverage as he swung up, legs stretching out and coming around to kick the doctor in the side of the head. Law was just as fast, bracing a forearm against him, peering intently at him over their limbs. All this did was piss Sanji off more and he twisted his whole body, swinging his other foot around to hopefully knock the wind out of the other man's lungs with his heel.

All Sanji connected with was air, the power in his kick throwing him back to the grass as he sat up trying to locate the doctor. There was a laugh from above him and the blond snapped his head up, peering with narrowed eyes up into the branches of the tree. Law was crouched several branches up, waving down at him with a smirk and a flash of those gray eyes.

“What did he tell you? Did Zoro-ya tell you to attack me?”

“He told me this is bullshit! Get down here. Teleporting is fucking cheating!” Sanji slammed a fist into the ground, spinning as he stood back on his feet. Shifting his stance, he dropped into a ready stance and fished his smokes from his pocket. Jamming one against his lip, he flicked his lighter and inhaled, feeling the smoke fill his lungs as he held his breath for a moment, speaking upon exhale. “Come fight me Law. I'm so sick of this round about shit lately I could fucking scream!”

“I am fighting Sanji-ya. In my way.” The doctor's voice hadn't even changed pitch. It was still low and calm where as Sanji knew he was practically screaming out here in the middle of the garden.

Sanji spun at the sound of the voice behind him, not even noticing the doctor moved from the tree. Reflexes responded and the blond kicked out, connecting sharply with Law's lower ribs as his knee struck home. He heard the breath rush from his lungs, even as he tried to suck in one from the pain and the black haired man dropped to his own knees as his hands flew to his side.

“Shit!” Sanji dropped as well, hands going to Law's shoulders as he ducked his head down. “Shit! You okay Law. Damn! I'm sorry! I didn't...”

The doctor looked up at him as he gasped in a breath, face contorting in pain as he grunted with a shallow bob of his head in what could have been a nod. “That...” he started, pausing as he winced in pain from breathing. “That may be the direction to go with you.”

“What?” Sanji cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“That fucking sucked.” One hand snapped out to grasp at Sanji's shoulder as the doctor tried to balance himself. Sanji felt a weird tingle and a slight drain on his person before he noticed the glow to the tattoos that peeked out from under the collar of Law's shirt. “Hold still.”

“What are you doing?!” Sanji's voice sounded frantic, the almost pull like feeling on his body getting stronger. He fought the urge to flee, to push Law off him and jump back, but he didn't as he was just as curious to find out what was going on. All of the tattoos on the doctor began to glow that bright white he thought he had been dreaming just weeks before hand and it struck Sanji that he had seriously hurt him just now. His jaw dropped open as he tried to find words to speak, but he became light headed and a ringing sprang up in his ears.

The fingers on his shoulder tightened and he thought he heard Law say something to him. “Law...” he moaned back, his voice sounding muffled to his own ears and the ringing growing louder. The doctor shook his shoulder, speaking to him again, but Sanji just shook his head. He had no clue what was being said to him. Blood rushed into his skull, the pounding of his headache growing worse from the ringing. Blackness crept into the edges of his vision as it blurred and suddenly the chef felt beyond hot. Swallowing once, he panted, barely aware of the fact he needed to pick up his cigarette he had just let fall from his lip, but it seemed like such a hard thing to do. Everything felt heavy around him, the air, the doctor's hand as it gripped tighter and tighter to his shoulder, hell even his own body felt weighted down and he sat back on his ass letting the darkness take him.

“Oi!” Hands shook him roughly and with a groan Sanji opened his eyes. Law was looking down at him, eyes wide with panic. “Sanji-ya! You okay? I'm sorry. I didn't even think, I just acted! Shit!”

“Wha...” Bringing a hand to his head, Sanji wasn't surprised to feel sweat. It was rather warm out today and he blinked up at Law curiously. “The hell?”

“You passed out.” Sitting back on his heels, the doctor rummaged through his medical bag that was now by his side and not near the tree. “I wasn't thinking when you hit me. I should have known that with your body already in shock from hitting the cement using your energy would have been a bad idea. But hell, that kick hurt!”

“My...what?” Everything was still foggy but slowly coming back to him. He remembered kneeing Law pretty hard in the ribs and dropping to the grass with him. Sanji also remembered the doctor glowing, but then nothing. “What happened?” Shaking his head, he pressed a hand to his forehead. His head still hurt like hell, the pounding in his temples and behind his eyes making it hard for him to keep his eyes open.

“Here.” Law's hands were on his neck, fingers resting just behind and under his ears. They felt cool compared to Sanji's own flushed skin and he closed his eyes as he felt a sweeping rush of calming wash over him. After several seconds, Law pulled his hands away and Sanji instantly felt better. “There. That ought to do it Sanji-ya. Feel better?”

“Much.” Nodding he took a moment to look around. They were still right where they had been, but Sanji still felt he had missed something. “I passed out, you said. From what? I hit you.”

“You did.” Law nodded, stuffing something back into his bag and closing it. “And I reacted badly. I shouldn't have, but you should be okay now.” Standing the dark haired doctor held out a hand to him. “Come on, up with you. I have a different idea now to try. I think it will work better in teaching you.”

“No more of this meditation crap?” Grasping a hold of his hand, Sanji noted the slight grayed tone to his tattoos. In fact, he would say they almost matched the color of his eyes. There was no way healing his headache would have used that kind of energy. “What'd you do Law?” He asked letting go of the other man's hand. He reached for a cigarette when he remembered he had dropped one he had already lit.

Snapping his eyes to the ground, Sanji jumped back, sighing and visibly relaxing when he noted the crushed stick on the ground. Law must have gotten it while he was unconscious. Reaching for a new one, he watched as the doctor shrugged and moved the bag back to the base of the tree. “I needed to heal myself. It was a stupid move, I told you that. Don't worry about it-ya? It just means I will have to go back to town with you in the next few days.”

“Oh joy.” Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke in a sigh. Not that he didn't mind the doctor's company when they were training but the last time they had both gone to the market together Sanji had to hang around for several hours longer than he needed while he waited for the other man to recharge or whatever it was he did. Steal was the word he would use, but everyone else seemed to frown upon using that word when it came to Law's weird ass powers.

“Anyways,” the doctor's tone was a bit annoyed now as he crossed his arms at him and frowned at the cigarette hanging from the blond's lip. “What did you do to me?”

“Kneed you in the ribs...I think.” The chef replied with a nod.

“True. But the amount of energy you put into it was intense.” Law raised a hand slightly in what Sanji was quickly learning meant he was planning on teleporting or whatever he did again. Instead he looked over his shoulder back towards Usopp's shed and a second later, what appeared to be a shovel handle appeared in hand. Shifting his grip on it, Law rested it against his shoulder. “Do it again.”

“Do what? I'm not even sure what I did the first time. Zoro never mentions anything about energy in my kicks.”

“He wouldn't. He probably wouldn't even notice it. But me, I would. I'm human, like you. My body can only take the same amount of a beating as yours can. Zoro-ya's can take a lot more. Something that would break bones for you or I he would hardly feel. So, yeah, breaking bones...do it again.”

“Are you serious?!” Sanji's hand flew to his mouth to grasp the cigarette before he dropped it again. “Are you saying I busted your fucking ribs just now? No way. Not possible. I didn't even hit you that hard.”

“That's what I have been trying to teach you. It's not a question so much as the power from your body that you put out as it is the power and force of your energy that you expel with it. So, Sanji Black-ya...let's go.”

When Sanji hesitated, Law made his move. He struck out with the make shift weapon, causing the blond to jump back. Angrily, Sanji slammed his smoke into his mouth to free up both hands and inhaled deeply. He dodged another coordinated swing from the doctor and ducked under it, darting closer and swinging a low kick meant to take out the other man's legs. The blond's heel hit the wood of the shovel handle and there was a loud  _ crack _ that rang through the garden. “Holy shit!” Sanji's astonishment came through in his voice as he jumped away, mouth open as Law frowned at the broken shovel handle.

“Usopp-ya is gonna be pissed.” Tossing the broken item over towards the tree, Law was quiet for a moment. “We need something stronger. You are more powerful than you think you are.”

“That never happens with Zoro!” Sanji's gaze was still on the broken gardening tool by the tree. There was no way he had that much power to a kick. Yeah, he knew he was strong, had been getting stronger...but hell! Even that stupid lizard should have been able to feel a kick  _ that _ strong!

“Again, he's a dragon.” The doctror's tone was flat. “ And he's using his own weapon. It would be different fighting him. This may have to wait till he gets up from his nap.” Law tapped at his chin, fingers roughing up his normally well kept goatee as he thought about what to do next. After a moment and Sanji's wandering over to toe at the shovel handle, he snapped his fingers. “We could go get Sabo-ya. I bet his staff would be great for this!”

“He was out here sparring with the bastard the other day.” Sanji looked back over his shoulder to the doctor as he scratched at his hair under his hat. “And he's not human or a dragon either. Could be worth a shot.”

“The more experience we can get you the better. Zoro-ya is very adamant that at some point Hydra will come. Especially with Ruby dead.” The dark haired man was still tapping at his chin as he spoke, seemingly planning something. “When do you have to make lunch?”

“Soon.” Sanji looked up to the sky, noting the sun through the trees. “I should do that before we do anything else.” Frowning, the blond chef watched Law walk away, his words striking him a little oddly. Sabo had said that Hydra thought Zoro was dead, yet, the elemental also mentioned that the four of them could communicate with one another telepathically, or so Sanji assumed that's how they did it. The water dragon had mentioned briefly talking to Phoenix, Sapphire, whatever his brother's name was. So was it possible that Hydra knew Zoro was alive? Just didn't know where he was?

A shudder ran through him against his will. This thing had almost killed Zoro once before, had killed Ruby; which meant he was most likely stronger than the dragon himself was. How were they going to beat Hydra if his own brothers couldn't?

 


	21. Book Two: Sapphire

Lunch consisted of everyone talking about Sanji basically. Perona and Robin were off on what the pink haired girl called “cutie time” and had wandered off with their lunches. This left the men of the household to their own devices at the table. As usual, Master Mihawk sat at the head of the table, only half paying them any attention, reading some paperwork. Franky and Usopp were headed to the market on some errands and Law decided to go with them, claiming that while they picked up their items to repair the fence on the grounds, he could recharge.

The doctor then turned to the dragon, who was sitting at his end of the table talking quietly with Sabo or well trying too. Luffy was interrupting quite often as he tried to grab at any food he could reach or ask the dragon or elemental stupid questions. Sanji glanced down to see the blind man rubbing at his temples, white eye closed as he answered one of the golem's questions. The chef could hear the restraint in his voice as he did so.

“I think we are approaching Sanji-ya's training wrong Zoro-ya.” The dark haired doctor proclaimed to the table as he pushed his food around with his fork. It caught the chef's attention and he frowned at the action.

Zoro's reaction was instantaneous to the statement however. “Naw...ya think? I have been telling you that. Meditating doesn't work for him. He needs to move and get aggravated.” He snapped one hand into a fist, dropping it to the table with a small bang and rattle of his plate.

“So I have discovered.” Law's hand rubbed at his side and Sanji noted it was where he had kneed him earlier. Taking a breath and then a drink, the doctor spoke, turning his gaze towards the elemental. “I think it might be a good idea if he trains with Sabo-ya a bit. Sanji-ya's quite strong, it would be good for him to fight against some one new.”

“I wanna fight!” Luffy's always happy-go-lucky voice rang through the room with a laugh. He stuffed a handful, much to Sanji's horror, of food into his mouth and spoke around it. “Can I fight too Sabo?”

“Yes, Luffy.” The blond gave the other a small smile as he turned his attention to Sanji. “How do you feel about this?”

Sanji gave Sabo a shocked look. No one around here ever seemed to consider his own feelings when it came to his constant training or whatever. As it was, he had been thrown into some other worldly battle and everyone in this screwed up household just expected him to accept this as normal and roll with it. He was quiet as all attention turned to him. Mihawk flipped a page over from the bundle he was reading, but never looked up as he spoke. “From what I have been told by Zoro, Sanji has progressed quite far in his training. I think him experiencing different fighting styles and different races may be very beneficial. You never know what Hydra may bring our way. Of course,” the Manor Master paused then to lock his gold eyes onto Sanji's blue. “That is if you are willing to do so Mister Black.”

With a shallow, the chef simply nodded before ducking back to eat once more. He was by no means afraid of anyone at the table, but his boss did have a creepy look about him when he pinned his eyes on you. It always unnerved him.

The rest of the meal ran smoothly and Sanji, with the help of Luffy, of all the people in the house, cleaned up lunch, took care of the left overs and did the dishes. The golem actually was quite a help in the kitchen today and for that the blond was thankful. He really didn't want to repeat the first night over where he had to keep an eye on the weird creature every second. Feeding him first then asking him to work seemed to be the key to Sanji getting the magma colored creature to do as he wanted.

With a laugh, Luffy adjusted a hat on his head and dashed out the screen door. The chef had no idea where he had gotten the stupid old faded straw hat, but the golem was seemingly attached to it and ever since then hadn't taken it off or put it down. He even wore it at the table, much to his own displeasure. Sabo had tried to take it off him and Luffy had freaked out, grabbing for it and actually knocking the two of them to the ground. The fire elemental had been in complete agreement with Sanji, it was just an old ratty hat, but Luffy whined and cried till he gave in and no one had said anything since. Even Mihawk had no idea where the hat had come from and all Luffy would say was that it was his and no one could take it away from him.

Golems were weird and Sanji meant to leave it at that. Following Luffy out into the back yard, he wasn't surprised to see Zoro and Sabo there as well, the three of them standing under the tree that marked their sparring area. Luffy was flexing at the dragon, arms a shiny black that spread out over his shoulders as the green haired man nodded absently at him. Sabo seemed to be explaining something if the way he was waving his hands about meant anything.

Lighting a cigarette, Sanji stuffed a hand in his pocket and walked up to them. Not surprisingly Zoro caught his scent first. “Oi! Cook, there you are. You ready?” Inhaling a drag, he gave the dragon a sharp nod with a 'yes' and stepped back, as did the others, giving the four of them some space to work with. “Luffy; stay back for a moment.”

“Right!” The golem gave a quick nod, his new hat moving down over his eyes and he laughed as he pushed it back up. Sanji flicked his eyes over to him, only realizing too late that it was a mistake. Sabo took that moment to strike, moving faster than the chef had seem him move previously and Sanji barely had enough time to lean back to avoid the swipe of the bo staff as it swung past. In fact, the displaced air of the strike tugged at his hair and flared the cherry on his cigarette.

So things were going to start off on a serious note. Okay, good to know. Sanji continued with his motion, leaning over backwards onto his hands and flipping back to his feet, giving him several more feet of space between them. Zoro crossed his arms as Luffy bounced on his toes next to him. “What Law taught you is good to work from. Feel the energy flow through you, follow it and use it to strike with.”

Sanji tried to listen to the sound of Zoro's voice, the smooth even tone of it, as he focused on the flow of his own body's energy. Across from him, as the two began to circle one another, Sabo spun the staff in one hand, holding it angled in a guard that also allowed him to strike easily. He could feel the pull throughout his entire body, something he had begun to get used to. The chakras lining up and pushing and pulling his very life force about his body. The ebb and flow of it seemed to begin to center in his chest traveling down through his spine and back into his legs. The longer and more often the blond chef did this, the more familiar the feel of it became and it was beginning to be welcoming to him.

This was where this extra power Law spoke of was centered, this Sanji knew, but how to use it exactly at his command was still evading him, or so he thought. It was true Sanji had mostly fought Zoro, who didn't even flinch, but Law...the doctor had felt it. Had crumbled under it. The chef had actually broken bone with a hit he didn't think had a lot of force behind it. Sanji hadn't even really been trying with that attack.

“Don't hold back cook...” The dragon was saying, his tone a growled out command and Sanji ground his toes into the grass and sprinted forwards to close the gap between the two of them. He came down hard on his left foot, could feel the jolt up his leg as he swung around with his right, aiming to land a blow to the elemental's hip. He knew Sabo liked to attack from above, from seeing the little bit of sparring the other blond had done and wanted to weaken his ability to jump into the air.

It was a simple movement, Sabo barely twisted the weapon, blocking Sanji's attack, but the rush of chakra energy that left the blond chef caused him to pause. The fire elemental's eyes went wide as he pushed the chef back, twirling the weapon in a wide arc before planting the butt into the ground once more. Sanji recovered easily, settling into a ready stance before taking off again. This time he dove into a hand stand, spinning on his hands as he tried a flurry of smaller kicks instead of one large attack.

Sabo kept up easily for the first few, but Sanji knew one hit home from the grunt of the elemental and the huffed laugh of the dragon. Using the momentum he created to his advantage, Sanji dropped, sweeping his feet out and catching the other blond at the ankle, flipping him to the grass easily. Luffy let out a loud laugh before bounding over to grin broadly into Sabo's face as the chef rose easily to his feet, taking a drag off his cigarette and pulling it from his mouth. He allowed himself a small smirk, but knew from experience with the shitty dragon that just because he was on the ground didn't mean the fight was over.

Apparently the fire elemenal had other ideas. The golem helped him to his feet and he pushed past him to grab a hold of Zoro's shoulder, the smacking sound as it hit the dragon's bare skin causing him to jerk slightly. He swung his head towards the elemental as Sabo leaned close to him to speak lowly in his ear. Sanji watched, placing his smoke back against his lip once more as the white eye seemed to focus on the chef and he could feel that blind gaze wandering over him.

Zoro's face scrunched in thought, calculating whatever it was that Sabo was saying to him before he grunted and nodded. He turned his head towards the other man, speaking just as lowly, placing a hand along the blond's upper arm and gripping tightly for a moment. Sanji knew they were talking about him, he could just feel it. “What the hell now?!” He demanded, dropping the smoke and grinding it under his shoe before picking it up and stuffing it in his pocket.

The dragon turned at this point, moving to the tree and dropping to his ass as he picked up a bottle. He completely dismissed them as he leaned back against the trunk. Sanji hadn't even seen it until now, but he knew that the clear liquid was most likely sake or some other hard liquor he was always consuming. He quickly closed the gap to them, glaring down at the blind dragon as he shrugged and lifted the bottle to his lips once more.

Sabo snapped his hand out, catching Sanji by the wrist and squeezing tightly. He tugged at the blond's shirt, exposing his forearm before pulling his glove off with his teeth. “Wha—what are you doing?!” The cook's attention shifted instantly, snapping his hand into a fist as he growled at the other blond.

“Marking you.” The fire elemental spoke simply, fingers flaring to life with small fires at the tips. They danced wildly against his fingers, as if the little flames had minds of their own.

“What?!” Sanji barked, trying to jerk his arm away, but the other man just gripped his wrist tighter. There was a small pop as his bones shifted in his wrist. The chef hissed in pain, not wanting to hurt himself, body shaking all over as Sabo lowered his pointer finger to the flesh just below Sanji's elbow. “Zoro!” As a last resort to not have his arm scarred permanently, he whipped his head over to the dragon, who shrugged again and chuckled, taking another drink of his bottle and waving a hand dismissively at the entire ordeal. Luffy popped up on his far side, eyes wide as he watched with interest.

“Oh! Cool!” The golem yelled, but it went unheard by all.

“It's fine, cook. Do you honestly think I would let him  _ really _ hurt you? Give me more credit than that.” Scowling at his bottle, he tipped his head back and finished it, opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out as the last few drops fell to his tongue. “I'm a guardian after all. Grow some balls.”

“Did you...?” But Sanji cut himself off with a hiss as a burning heat met his skin.

“Fehu,” The fire elemental started, marking blazing trails into Sanji's arm that looked somewhat like the letter “F” to him. The pain was immense, his flesh burning black the second Sabo's finger passed, leaving little fires in the wake on his skin. He could smell burnt flesh and was light headed suddenly. His stomach turned and he felt sick, there was nothing worse than the smell of burnt meat and knowing it was his own  _ arm _ ...! How could that damned dragon let this asshole do this to him?! Sanji was horrified! That damned lizard had to be the worse fucking so-called  _ guardian  _ ever! The hell he even mean by that anyways?! He raised a leg to kick out at Sabo, but was a bit surprised when Luffy grabbed him, holding him from fighting back. The golem's arms wrapped under his own, hooking over the chef's shoulders, locking him in place. “Isa. Raido; ehwaz.” The elemental spoke each word as he drew a new mark into his skin.

When the last line was drawn, the fire elemental let him go and Sanji pulled his arm back, cradling it against his chest, looking down in horror at the scared black marks in his arm. Luffy's arms slid away from him, but the blond was too focused on the lingering burn to notice the golem fall away from him. The small flames littering his arm died away and with it the pain, but the marred and mangled flesh remained. Sanji completely dismissed the lack of pain in favor of the permanent black marks on his arm now. If he wanted to be rational about it, the brand on his arm sort of looked like a word, but from what language the blond chef couldn't say. “The fuck did you do that for?!” Snapping his attention between his cradled arm and the elemental, a new panic began to rise up in Sanji, along with an intense anger at everyone involved in this situation.

Zoro got up from his spot at this point, with a groan. Walking over to the two of them he motioned for Sanji to give him his arm. “Let me see.”

“How?” Sanji frowned, but held his arm out anyways. The dragon's fingers wrapped around his wrist gently, taking care to not grip too tightly or touch any of the inflamed skin of his arm. Even though there was no pain, his whole arm still pulsed from the adrenaline and the blond found himself holding his breath as tanned fingers ghosted over the marks on his red and abused flesh.

With a nod and a small humming grunt, Zoro turned his head towards Sanji's newest tormenter. “You're sure of this?”

“It's a little too late now anyways.” Sabo rolled his eyes at the dragon. “He needs something besides what he has learned and what Law has shown him.” The fire elemental smiled gently, turning back to Sanji. “This will give you the power over fire.”

“Fire?” The blond pulled his arm back as the dragon let it go, turning his attention to the now rapidly fading lines on his arm. “Where are they going?” Somehow he knew he shouldn't be surprised by this, but he was. Ever since Sabo and the Luffy had arrived things had gone weird again. Well weirder.

“They will only burn when you use the power I gave you. When you fight they will burn as bright as the fire in your heart. Fury and eagerness for your fighting style with come through and you will be able to harness that energy and use it during your fights. Fire is life and death! Freedom as well as captor! It's such a versatile mistress! Alive as much as it is dead!” The fire elemental snapped his hand into a fist, grinning wildly as he spoke about the nature of the element itself. “Even from the little bit I have seen, the...the passion you display, the complete focus and rapid combustion; I like you.”

Turning towards the golem, Sabo placed a hand on him and Luffy gave the elemental a large grin. “How come I don't have anything like that Sabo?”

“Because you're a golem.” Zoro snarled at Luffy and Sanji got the idea that the dragon really didn't like the creature at all. Not that he didn't like Luffy, but just the concept of a golem in it's entirety. “You do, they are just carved into your creation. Like on your bones.” Zoro leaned back, patting at his own chest to emphasize his point. “Didn't Portgas teach him anything?”

“Ace didn't have a lot of time with Luffy.” Sabo cast his gaze towards the dark haired man. The golem gave a wide grin before bounding off once more, catching sight of Merry across the grass. The sheep bleated and dashed off, the crazy hat wearing creation after her. Sabo sighed, letting his shoulders drop with a shake of his head. “That's why he's the way he is.”

“Hm,” The dragon nodded, turning to look at Sanji. The sun caught the gold flecks in the white eye and the chef raised an eyebrow at him in question. Zoro leveled him with a glare, his voice harsh and even. “Listen, Cook; what Sabo gave you is very rare and very important. I expect your gratitude for this. It's not often an elemental deems one worthy to share their powers with.”

“Wait...what?” Jaw dropping open, Sanji swung his eyes between the two before settling them back to Zoro. What in the hell was this stupid lizard talking about now? Why did he owe Sabo for burning disappearing marks into his arm? His attention snapped to his forearm as he held it out in front of him, fist clenched tightly. Sanji was shaking slightly, he noted, and wondered if it was from the burn or the fear that his life was now somehow connected to the elemental's.

“Every elemental can share their powers with someone.” The green dragon spoke calmly, seriously for once and Sanji found himself hanging on every word. It wasn't just because it was Zoro either, there was something else there, as if some sort of unspoken command to listen and learn came over him. He noted Sabo looked at Zoro the same way and he felt better than it wasn't just him mesmerized by the weird blind dragon.

“It binds a force between them for as long as the elemental lives. That's how humans suddenly gain the powers over fire, water, air, earth, trees, death, shadows...you name it; there's an elemental of some form for it.” Zoro motioned with little hand gestures as he spoke and the deep tone of the dragon's voice sounded quietly in the area. It was weird to the chef to hear such seriousness from him. The dragon was usually mocking everything and everyone, so to see this side of him was a little odd.

“Is that what Law is? Did he make some sort of deal with an energy one? Are there energy elementals?” Sanji scrunched up his nose. He sounded so stupid to himself.

Zoro nodded though. “There are energy ones, but no; what Law is; is different. Anyways,” he waved a hand. “So long as Sabo breathes, to put it simply; you will be able to control the powers of fire. You can't create it like he can, per say, but you can manipulate any living flame. Well, once you learn to use it.” He gave a shrug. “The point of this though was to help power up your attacks. Sabo's impressed with your power and it's his choice. Although I do appreciate the consent Sabo.” Zoro clapped a hand onto the blond's shoulder and the elemental nodded sharply.

“It wasn't mine!” Sanji snapped at them, frowning as he rubbed at his arm.

“It has to be that way. That's the drawback. The person who's to receive the gift can't be aware of it. The mechanics of magic are finicky.” The fire elemental shook his head as he scowled at the ground. “I can help you learn to control it though. It's quite easy actually; especially with what you can already do with your chakra energy. I'm impressed you are so advanced so soon.”

“Well Zoro and I do spend a lot of time out here...” Sanji trailed off as he cast his eyes down and to the side. He caught the dragon's stomach from the edge of his vision, noting the dark scar along the perfect set of ab muscles. “And Law and I do as well.”

“It shows.” The fire elemental grinned and moved to once again pick up his bo staff. “So,” he commented with a large grin. “Shall we continue? We have a whole new set of skills to teach you now! I can even teach you a little spell, that when spoken, even mentally, will ignite in flames.” Twirling the weapon in an obvious show off attempt, Sabo grinned broadly. “One of the perks of sharing my element with you Sanji.”

 


	22. Book Two: Sapphire

“Hey that looks like Zoro.” Sanji commented as he looked over his shoulder to the book open on Robin's desk. He set the tray he was holding down and turned his attention to it fully. It was an old book and an even older picture, the water colored image with hand drawn lines more striking than any printed page in a modern book.

“That's because it is.” Koala rolled her black eyes and huffed. Or well, Sanji thought she rolled her eyes. Her appearance at the manor had gone unnoticed at first until the dragon had swatted at her by mistake. It had been a couple weeks ago at this point, the men of the household out by the pool having their typical night of cards and annoying a certain blind drake.

That was the day Sanji learned several things, starting with what a fae was. The blond chef also learned that they could naturally change size; from something not much bigger than a humming bird, being just as fast, if not faster; to a full size human. Sanji also learned that fae, despite their weird skin tones and eyes, didn't wear clothing. At all. In fact it was weird that Koala wore the faded purple hat she did.

He had to admit, even as the blush hinted at his cheek bones and his concentration tried to remain on how the lines meant to be Zoro's whiskers streamed from his closed muzzle, that the fae was beautiful in her own way. Skin white as snow and eyes the same black as Sabo's, but those weren't nearly the weirdest things about her. The large set of what he could only describe as translucent wings, the long pointed oblong shapes sprouting from her shoulder blades littered with the same fire red as her hair were what struck him the most.

“When was it painted? It is painted I assume?” Frowning at the curled edge of the paper, Sanji praised himself on his focus. It wasn't everyday he had a naked female sitting on a desk in a library, that was for sure and he was oddly aware of how it was a slight turn on to him as well. Or maybe he just needed...okay. Whoa, time to focus Sanji.

On the other side of the table, Robin leaned forwards to pour a cup of the coffee from the carafe on the tray. “Not entirely sure honestly. Zoro doesn't remember having to pose for it, but what is a single afternoon to one such as him?”

“I was trying to find one of Sapphire honestly.” The fae pursed her lips into a small pout. “But I can't. It does look like some pages have been ripped out of the middle of this book though.”

“I only acquired this recently, so it is quite possible.” Taking a sip of her coffee, the librarian set the cup aside where Nami dipped her beak into it. Other than Sanji raising an eyebrow as the raven shook her head, the bird went unnoticed. “I haven't had a chance to read that one yet. With everything else that has been going on as of late.”

“Yes, Sabo and Luffy can be quite a handful.” Koala turned pages in the book idly, not even bothering to look up from what she was doing.

“Quite,” Robin replied with a smile. “But I have actually been focusing on the progress of our dear chef here. Sanji, you have made leaps and bounds in your fighting since the arrival of Sabo. How do you feel now that you have his powers coursing in your veins? I have never been able to study a human with elemental powers from the time it happened. This is quite fascinating.”

“Uh...fine?” He tilted his head to the side in question and noticed the black raven did the same, quorking in response to his own question, ruffling her feathers. He looked down at his arm, mentally picturing the marks on his skin as he flexed the muscles easily. “I don't really feel that different most of the time, but when we spar and I try to use it for techniques, I can feel it then. When I...activate that spell he taught me...Its like this...rush of energy that moves with mine and I am able to manipulate it to do my bidding. It takes a lot of effort though to actually get any flames to appear.”

“You can make fire?” Koala turned her black eyed gaze to Sanji. “How long have you and Sabo been connected? I never heard of him sharing his powers with a human before. I thought that would be something he would tell me.”

“A few weeks? Maybe a little more. It was a few days before you got here my dear.” Sanji stood straight again, grinning as he turned to look at the odinson. “The breakthrough this morning though was my mastering of the energy techniques Law has been showing me...finally!” He let a relieved sigh escape him. Learning anything from Law was hard with the man's cryptic way of speaking.

“Oh do tell.” Robin folded her hands and rested her chin on them. Around her, her aura flared up, the tendrils snaking out from around her desk to lick at his shoes and calves. He stepped back a pace, the weird life like things still freaked him out slightly, but all the black haired woman did was smirk at him.

“I...uh,” He watched them, coiling and wriggling about like headless snakes, trying to find something to grasp on to. “It's like a step, or well it is for me. Law said it's slightly different for everyone. I can...solidify, that's the word that comes to mind, the energy in the air and my own body to build steps to push off of or stand on for a moment.”

Koala's wings twitched at her sides as she blinked at him. She didn't speak, just took in what it was he was saying. She didn't seem to speak often but normally had something rather useful to say when she did. The fae kind of reminded Sanji of the librarian if he thought about it. “What are you?” She cocked her head to the side. “Fire, energy manipulation; what else can he do?”

Robin flicked her gaze up to the fae as Sanji collapsed into one of the chairs. A long thin tendril, the shade almost black in the darkness of the large room, slid up the chair arm, licking at Sanji's hand. He jerked his fingers back and the librarian flicked her gaze over to him. “I don't bite Sanji.”

“They just...” He cleared his throat and sat up straight in the chair, flicking his fingers when the end slid over his knuckles. “I'm not used to them or how you can collect, ya know, stuff.”

“Most people find them quite...intimidating. I enjoy it.” Robin chuckled, watching as Koala closed the book and rose from the desk with a light flick of her wings, flying to a high shelf to return the old tome to its home. Nami took flight after her and the fae dove back down to light onto a railing above where the desk sat, the raven landing next to her.

The odinson drew back her tendrils and Sanji exhaled a sigh of relief, crossing one leg over the other and stopping as he found himself going for his cigarettes. He probably wouldn't be allowed to smoke in here anyways. “I found him you know,” Koala spoke quietly after the three had sat in silence for a minute or so. “Only briefly.”

“Is that so?” The librarian asked quietly, glancing towards the pale female as she spoke.

“Who?” The blond turned his head, craning his neck back to see the fae from where she sat on the high railing still. She looked down at him, her large black eyes reflecting the light of the lamp on Robin's desk perfectly.

“Well Sapphire, of course. Who else would I be trying to find?”

“Well, I don't know. Everyone is going nuts over this Onyx person too.” The chef shrugged, getting up from his chair. He picked up the book Robin had set aside for him and bobbed his head in a nod at her. “I really need to be going. I want to try to get a little bit of reading in before we leave for the market later.”

“Thank you Sanji for the tea and snacks. We shall return the tray to you later.”

“No need for thanks, dears. Either leave it and I will come get it when I get back or ask Franky or someone to bring it to the kitchen.”

“I will do so, thank you again Sanji.” The small smile that crossed her lips caused the chef to shudder, but he agreed anyways, ducking his head in a nod and turning from the librarian.

Walking to the door, Sanji slipped out of it, hearing the two ladies begin their discussion about this Sapphire person. The code names thing was ridiculous, that the blond could agree with the dragon about. And precious gems? Like there was honestly anything precious about  _ Zoro. _

Sanji stopped in the hall at that thought. No, there wasn't anything precious per say about the brute of a dragon, but there was...something that was drawing him to the blind reptile. There was a resolve there beyond the amazing looks, those being what had started this in the first place and Sanji found himself attracted to that as much as anything else. But as time had moved over the last couple months and the more the two spent together...he couldn't quite identify  _ what  _ he felt for Zoro, but it was something.

Smacking the thin book against his thigh as he walked, the chef lit up a cigarette the second he passed into the garden, taking a seat at his table in the shade and flipping the book open. It was one Robin had easily located for him after the two had sat down to discuss his gift from Sabo.

The history behind the elementals and their language of the runes was quite interesting, but Sabo really couldn't tell him too much. He did however make mention of this very book and after some sparring and breakfast, the chef had gone to visit Robin to get the item. Laughter cut through the air just as he was about to crack the cover and he looked up to see Luffy round the corner followed by the gardener faun. “Oh! There you are Sanji!” The golem cried out happily as he bounced on his toes.

“We were just looking for you. Law wants to head into town now Sanji.” Usopp clicked his way across the stone, his hooves making the small sounds as he walked towards the door to the kitchen. “Are you ready?”

“I just need to grab my wallet and phone from off the table in there.” Jerking his head towards the kitchen, Sanji stood, bending over the bucket as he pulled one last drag from his cigarette and tossed it away. Luffy dashed passed him, knocking Usopp out of the way and yelling about going to the market.

“Luffy!” The gardener yelled, holding the screen door open and sighing when he heard the dinning room door slam. “He's just so excited. Sabo said he never got to go anywhere before they came here. So this is all new to him as well.”

“I know how that feels.” Sanji grabbed the door, holding it as Usopp kicked some dirt from his hooves and made his way inside. “I gotta know,” the chef let the door close behind him, his eyes glancing up the faun's back. “Stories say fauns have tails.”

“Well of course I have a tail Sanji,” the other man rolled his eyes and pulled off his large floppy hat, showing two dark grey horns that now proudly showed through his pulled back hair. “Just like most have horns. They don't itch anymore either!”

“And they are getting...long? Tall? What's the right word?” Shrugging, the blond picked up his things and the two walked from the kitchen towards the front of the house. “You driving? You can drive right?”

“Yes. I got my license.” The faun rolled his eyes. “It may appear to be a...ugh, handicap to you, but I function perfectly well with my hooves Sanji, so stop worrying about it. And don't tell me you're not. Cause you are.”

Usopp laughed as Sanji huffed. Okay, so he had been a little worried about it. He hadn't been anywhere with Usopp driving and it was a tad unnerving. “I think...,” the curly haired gardener continued as they came out into the front corridor. “I am going to have Law and Luffy sit in the back though. You can sit upfront with me. That way Luffy doesn't knock into the shift stick again like last time.”

“Law is going to hate you.” Sanji chuckled as they crossed the plush carpet and worked their way towards the garage where Luffy was already yelling and carrying on, annoying Franky in his workshop in the back of the room. Law grumbled his way in from another door, his tattoos looking dark and his eyes sunk deep. The doctor looked as if he hadn't slept in the last few days to be perfectly honest.

“You and Luffy are in the back Law,” Usopp trotted off to gather up a set of keys, missing the wild look the doctor threw at him. Then he shrugged and sighed, running a hand through his hair and readjusting his hat.

He had also just vanished about a week ago and only arrived back home two days before. He kept going on about some spiritual journey he had needed to finish and how it had both mentally and physically been taxing. He had assured Master Mihawk, and Sanji, who was in the room, that he was much stronger now. The dark energy stealing doctor had then asked to be left alone with his food and no one had seen him till now.

“I feel much better, thank you Sanji-ya,” Law held up a hand before the chef could even ask. “I just need to...recharge, as you so gracefully put it the other day.”

“I wasn't trying to stick my nose in, but as the one in charge of your dietary needs, I needed to say something about how it could wait.”

“And, in the end, you were correct.” Closing his eyes and dipping his head in a nod, the doctor gave the briefest hint of a smile before it vanished and he turned towards the car. Luffy appeared next to him, almost leaping onto the doctor's shoulders and throwing them both into the car door. Under the golem's wild laughter, the doctor groaned and pushed off the car, pulling open the door. Grabbing Luffy by the back of his shirt, he threw him into the vehicle and climbed in, slamming the door shut. Muffled yells came from inside as the two argued about how the seating in the back seat was going to get set up.

Usopp bounded around to the driver's side, tossing some keys in his hand and Sanji reluctantly climbed into the passenger side. Closing the door, he looked over his shoulder to the two men in the back. Law was pressed up against his door, scowling at the world, arms crossed and head dipped forwards so the brim of his hat shadowed his eyes.

The golem on the other hand was sitting ramrod straight, knees bouncing as he starred straight ahead out the front window. “Are we going? Can we go now? Usopp why haven't we left yet?”

The faun chuckled as he started the car, pressing a button on a small panel near the visor that the chef knew activated the automatic garage doors. “We are Luffy, just calm down! We are going on an epic adventure to the market!”

“Yeah!” Luffy's voice echoed around the small vehicle, Law's hiss of hatred being drown out over the golem's excitable laughter. Sanji cracked a window, lighting up a cigarette and was a little overly shocked when the doctor's hand appeared in his vision wanting one as well. Sanji turned and gave him a weird look over the back of the seat, his own smoke dangling awkwardly from his open mouth.

“What? No I don't normally condone this behavior, but if I am to sit back here with him; hand one over Sanji-ya.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” The blond did as asked and the rest of the short ride was done in silence, with the exception of Luffy and his crazy antics. The man was like a freaking dog when it came to car rides, bounding about the back seat, rolling the window down and sticking his head out, laughing the entire time. Sanji leaned back and tried to block him out, instead concentrating on how the road took them over the long single lane bridge to the main land, turning and following the coast for a little ways before turning off into what most would consider just an open field on the edge of town.

Sanji let his eyes blur slightly, the unfocused feel of it bringing to light what actually lay beneath the magical mirage that was in place. Tents and buildings made small streets and lined much of the field, a small parking lot type place at the far end where the gardener parked the car. All sorts of different people and species? Races? The chef still didn't know how to classify everyone honestly, but they walked about laughing and joking and so full of life. A small clamber rose above everything else, the yells of merchants and the clang of street side vendor food stalls. Tons of different smells assaulted the chef and as always when he arrived, his mouth began watering in anticipation of meandering along the streets trying what little treats were offered.

Law was out of the car as soon as it rolled to a stop, adjusting his clothes and ducking down to speak into Sanji's window long enough to tell them he would text when he was ready to leave. Before either of them had a chance to answer, the doctor was gone, sliding between the cars and disappearing into the crowds. Usopp sighed, thunking his head against the steering wheel. “And there he goes. Great, now we will be stuck here till he gets over sulking.”

The chef chuckled, opening his door and standing with a stretch. “As weird as it is, he needs to collect his crazy mojo too.”

“Yeah...” The faun went to open his door as Luffy bolted from the back seat, launching himself between two cars and crying out for food as he headed towards the first tent near them. “Ah crap!” Usopp dashed after him, his long bounding strides carrying him away rather quickly.

“Well...” Sanji huffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking around to close doors and collect the car keys. “Guess I'm on my own then.”

 


	23. Book Two: Sapphire

Sanji wandered the streets for a while, placing orders that would be brought right to the manor itself. He found different fruits that he hoped were to the likings of the various people at his new home, nuts and seeds that he thought the odinson's ravens might enjoy and even some exotic fish that he knew that stubborn blind newt wouldn't be able to turn his nose from. Picky bastard.

After signing off on the last of his order forms, a tall white haired nymph informing him that the fish could be delivered as soon as the following morning, the chef decided to turn his walk towards the small cafe that was set up. That was where he and Robin had gone the few times they had come to work on his sight and why not try now as well? He was much better at being able to identify smaller spells, mirages like Usopp's he could see right through now, but stronger ones he still had to concentrate on. Sometimes it would slip right passed him as well.

One of the few humans who was in this strange bizarre came to hand him the small menu as he took a seat at one of the open tables near the edge of the open main street. She gave him a warm smile, which he returned easily with a thanks and asked for some coffee for starters. Writing it down in a small note book, she left on a turn of her heel, leaving the chef to people watch.

It had been difficult for him to sit here with Robin at first and this entire thing still made him uncomfortable, but he was willing to set his own anxieties aside if it meant he could learn something. His thoughts strayed to the people of the manor as he idly watched passers by, picking out the easy spells first that he knew and had mastered before working towards the harder ones.

Master Mihawk, Franky, Perona and himself were human, that much he knew. What exactly his boss and his family were capable of, he didn't know, but after trying for hours to figure it out, Robin had finally just reassured Sanji that there was no spell around them. Franky was just like Sanji in the sense that some where in their family history someone had been submerged in the magical world and so that lingering gene flared with in them.

Law had trained himself for years to become the weird man he was and used his tattoos as a way to cover his bizarre addictions and habits. Usopp and Robin where no brainers, completely born of this realm and never having to fear being shunned by what Sanji had thought was the only humanity out there.

The click of his cup being set on the table startled him and the chef glanced over to catch the waitress stepping back from the table. “Have you decided yet?”

“Ah, yes,” Sanji turned in his seat, tapping at the menu as he picked it up. “The special looks good, I am curious as to what that fish tastes like as I ordered some myself just a bit ago.”

“It's very good.” With a nod, the girl took the menu giving Sanji another bright smile and turned away with out giving him a chance to answer. He watched her go, mindlessly letting his eyes wander over her shoulders and down her back before she disappeared back into the building.

Sighing, the blond scrubbed a hand at his face and turned back to the crowds. Calmly he fished out a cigarette and lit it, crossing one knee over the other as he took that first drag. Holding his breath a moment, he rested his hand on his knee, tapping his thumb idly against the butt of his smoke. Sabo and even Koala were a bit harder to identify, the fae being the hardest so far. She dropped the spell herself most of the time, but they had tried to force Sanji to see through it at one point and it had been quite draining. Going from seeing the pale naked creature as she is to making her look completely human and clothed, no less, was a complex spell and took effort to break.

He had done it though after some time, able to see through small cracks and he used that to his advantage as he watched today. This left Zoro though. The dragon was a completely different case entirely. The spell he used actually changed who he was and it made it almost entirely impossible to tell what he was beyond that shimmer of heat that never seemed to leave him.

Picking up his coffee, the heat that radiated off the top reminded him greatly of the dragon and with a sigh, he felt himself sink into that damned content feeling of want once more. Fucking dragon and his damned perfect body. His annoying and brooding nature that lured him in against his will. Sanji knew Zoro had a caring side, a gentle side to him from the stories he had gathered from others and books he had read and that just made the blond crave the other more.

That dream he fucking had the other night hadn't helped either in the slightest. It was so vivid, the beast so feral, Sanji found his body actually craving the strength that lay in that human form. He wanted to draw it out, have it turned on him and used against him. Wanted to see Zoro come apart as he had dreampt him doing and wanted nothing more than to be there with him when the dragon finally did.

A centaur wandered past with great long strides and Sanji watched the muscles in his sides work as he walked along. Each fallen hoof echoed about the buildings, swallowed up by the sounds around it. Closing his eyes a second, Sanji opened them again and was excited to see he was also able to switch easily today between seeing through the veil and being blinded by it.

The elegant creature's shiny black fur was gone, along with the horse body, revealing a man with short cropped black hair wearing jeans and a T-shirt. “Ha!” The chef let the excited exclamation escape him, grinning like a fool as his eyes moved from one creature to the next, shifting back and forth with his sight easily. Pulling another drag off his smoke, he decided when he got back that afternoon, he would seek out the temperamental newt and the two were going to try this again.

Last time Sanji, admittedly, had gotten himself flustered with having to stare openly at the naked dragon for so long as the jerk paddled about his pool, the reptile refusing to put on clothing while Sanji practiced his abilities. Ever since that day the lizard had caught him at the pool side, it seemed like Zoro purposely was less clothed around him. Whether the dragon was hinting at something or simply doing it out of spite...Sanji didn't know. But, oh, did he really want to find out!

Tapping ash from his mostly forgotten cigarette, he pulled another drag off it and shifted slightly...great, even just thinking about the damned blind bastard was causing him to get half hard. And in fucking public no less. Frowning, he went back to brooding and training his sight, the loud laugh and scrape of the chair next to him startling him and making the chef drop his cigarette to the ground.

“Shit!” Stomping his foot down on it, he swung his gaze to the person who so rudely sat at his table with him. How dare he? Who did he think he was anyways? “Can I help you?” Sanji shot at the man, who simply grinned at him around a scraggly beard.

“You seemed lonely, so I thought I would come and keep you company.” He laughed again, the sound loud and boisterous, reverberating off the sides of the buildings above everything else. The blond could practically  _ feel  _ it against his skin as he gripped tighter to his cup handle. “Lost deep in thought...about a lover no less.”

“How...” Snapping his jaw shut, Sanji narrowed his eyes at this man. He knew enough by now to know that looks meant nothing and secrets were even harder to keep. If Zoro knew what he was thinking by smell alone, how many others could? Robin could get anything she wanted from you by a simple touch of her tendrils and her two birds were always bringing her information.

Clearing his throat, Sanji brought his mug to his lips and took a sip. “No, but I would like it.”

“Ah, unrequited love.” This new comer gave a sigh and slammed a hand onto their little table. “Carmen! Darling, where are you?!” He jerked his head about in search of the waitress, spreading his arms wide as she appeared. “Ah, there you are. Bring me a mug of ale and some of that roasted pig I smell.”

The girl clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, glancing beyond the large man to Sanji. “I will be back with your food in just a moment sir.”

“Take your time my dear.” Sanji gave her a small smile before turning back to his unwelcomed guest. “There a reason you are here? Or did you just simply come to bother me?”

“I saw a quiet man sitting alone and thought to keep him company a while. I can see you are troubled here, you don't fit in and we share that in common.”

“I am sure,” Sanji started, looking back at this man and letting his eyes trail over him. Messy hair the same dark shade as his beard poked out randomly from under his hat. His clothing was ripped and torn and he didn’t seem to care at all about hiding the gun handle that protruded from his belt. His eyes were dark and the chef tried hard to suppress the shudder than ran through his core. “We have nothing in common.”

“Cast out,” the man spoke as if he hadn't heard what Sanji had said, his own gaze traveling to the busy street in front of them. “Different than all the rest, yes? You don't quite fit in here, in all this.” Raising an arm, he motioned broadly to the market and Sanji felt this pang of hurt well up inside him. “Yet, you know you no longer fit in...out there.” And he threw his other arm out towards the sky. Sanji knew he was referring to the human world, the blinded normal world. “Just trying to find that one place where you belong.”

Carmen arrived with both plates of food and the compellingly insightful man rudely dug into his food before the plate was even on the table, stuffing his cheeks full and greedily sucking down his ale. Ugh, he was worse than Zoro when it came to table manners, but at least the dragon had an excuse. He couldn’t actually  _ see _ what he was eating. This man could see just fine. He was just rude and brutish.

Trying to turn his attention to his own food, Sanji was thankful the other man had stopped talking for the moment. The fish was cooked well, one of the reasons he kept coming back to this little place and flaked perfectly when he cut into it with his fork. He was just opening his mouth to take that first bite when his guest spoke again.

“What do you want to gain when you look at your lover?”

“Gain?” Sanji dropped the fork back to his plate, Zoro's annoyed face unwillingly flashing before his eyes. “I don't want to gain anything. It's not like I want to force a relationship here.”

“But what if you could? What if you could take what you wanted? Destroy those who put you in this other worldly limbo, as it were.”

“I...” The chef stopped, dropping his shoulders. That was something that had never occurred to him in the slightest. He had never thought to force anything on anyone, let alone a  _ dragon  _ of all people and was pretty sure if he tried he would walk away with more than broken ribs...if he walked away at all.

But to wreck the manor and the life he was building there? That thought hadn't once crossed his mind. Yes, he got annoyed and wanted to rip his hair out most of the time, but to hurt the people he lived with? He didn't think he was capable of it and the thought made him sick to his stomach. And he hadn't even eaten yet.

Taking a large bite of his food, the man laughed, bits of meat splattering the table. “Got you thinking now, don't I? People like you and me, we never will fit in. We may think that we do, for a time, but eventually we are cast out, thrown aside when our usefulness is up and never thought of again.”

“They wouldn't...” Sanji's voice trailed off into a whisper. Honestly he didn't know what the people at the manner would do once this whole thing was over. He arrived on the edge of a looming battle and much of his time there had been training him for that very thing. He figured he and Usopp would remain friends and possibly Perona too, as much as the pink haired girl seemed to not care about his existence most times.

But Robin, Sabo...Zoro? Would the dragon care if he remained after this was all said and done? Or was he simply a cook to the blind beast, a walking and talking catered meal delivery. Sanji went out of his way to make sure the dragon got what he needed and how he liked his food and to what end? Zoro usually dismissed him with a snort and a wave of his hand.

Was this guy right? Was Sanji part of their little group or was he just there to fill a need and once done, they would get rid of him? “I have to go.” Standing, the chef picked up his plate and walked away from the table to pay and have Carmen pack it to go for him.

That loud laugh followed him into the building and as Sanji ducked inside he let the shudder wreck his body willingly. He barely paid attention to his exchange in the cafe, wanting to get back to the others and get out of here. His thoughts were on whether or not he was really wanted or just filling a need. Would they really go through all this trouble to train him if they were just going to push him out after wards? He truly hoped not. Sanji found he enjoyed living there, but what if it was all an act?

The sun blinded him a moment as he stepped back out into the street, glancing over to his table to find the other man was gone. An empty plate and mug all that remained of his presence even being there. Scowling at the dishware, the chef huffed and pulled a cigarette out, pausing before setting it against his lip and turning for the car. He hadn't gotten any texts yet...was that a sign?

Flicking his lighter, he played with the flame slightly, purposely calling it to burn brighter, higher and feeling the runes sting on his arm. This gift was real and Sabo had given it to him. The elemental claimed it was by choice and Zoro had agreed, but the newt had seemed a tad reluctant that the other blond had wanted to do so. Had the occupants of the manor not informed their friends that Sanji was simply a tool? A fill in that would be gone after wards? Why would Sabo waste such a gift then?

“Sanji is that food?! I want it!” Luffy snagged the bag out of his hands and opened it, burying his head as deep as he could into it along with his hands. “Is this fish?! It smells great! Did you cook it Sanji?!”

“N-no,” Blinking at the golem as he stuffed his lunch into his mouth, Sanji sighed and pulled a drag off his smoke, stuffing his lighter back into his pocket. At least Luffy seemed to genuinely like him, yet again...it was Luffy. He liked everyone.

Usopp came loping up to them, hands on his knees as he bent over panting. “Dammit Luffy!” The faun got out between breaths. “He hasn't stopped! Where does he get the energy from?!”

“Ace gave it to me.” Grinning broadly from under his hat, the creature went back to eating Sanji's lunch, blissfully unaware that he was eating the chef's food.

“There's your answer.” Sanji flicked some ash off the end of his smoke. “Heard from Law? I wanna get out of here.”

“Let me...let me text him.” Standing back up, the gardener pulled his phone from his satchel and typed up a quick text to the doctor. Stuffing his phone away, he turned to give Sanji a puzzled look. “Do you have the keys? I remembered that I left them in the car, but I have been so busy chasing Luffy I never got back there.”

“I do.” Sanji pulled them from his pocket and handed them over, moving to crouch in front of the golem, stealing the bag from him. “Guess what Luffy? I bought more of that fish. It's gonna be at the manor tomorrow. You wanna help me put it away then?”

The golem whined, rolling his eyes and getting to his feet. “That's boring. Can't I just eat it?”

“We have to cook it first.” He stood as well and the three walked back towards the car. “Even Zoro has to eat it cooked.”

 


	24. Book Two: Sapphire

That itch just wouldn't go away though. The entire time they waited for Law and the entire ride back to the Manor, Sanji's stomach twisted in knots. Were these people simply using him or were they really his friends? What was going to happen once all this was over?

The four went their separate ways once the car was parked and Sanji wandered through the house and into the kitchen where he made himself something to eat before heading out to the pool. That was most likely were Zoro would be and dammit, he was going to get answers now! He needed to know what was going on. Was he a valuable member of this house and weird ass team or simply a tool waiting to outlive its usefulness?

The girls had set up a table under the tree on the lawn and were chatting quietly while Merry grazed near by. They looked to have drinks and were all ready taken care of. Pausing, part of him wanted to go over and ask them if they needed anything, but the rest of him really just wanted to find that cocksure dragon and kick him in the face. How dare they use him like this?

He had just stepped up onto the cement surrounding the pool, moving to duck around the edge of the plant wall when Zoro's voice rang out from what sounded like the kitchen. The slam of the screen door echoed around the area. “Where is he?!” He sounded slightly panicked and out of breath, each word growled out. Sanji turned from where he stood, looking back towards the manor. He half hopped down the steps as the sound of gravel was heard and a low growl like roar rang out around the back lawn.

The dragon appeared, scales flashing in the afternoon sun and it took the chef a moment to realize that the damned blind jerk was actually in his dragon form before the reality of it sunk it. Zoro headed right at him, teeth bared in a snarl. Skidding in the rocks, the drake's body whipped around and his tail took Sanji right off his feet, the chef's back hitting the gravel walk harshly. Pain exploded in his head and spiked in his shoulders as a second lunch was thrown back, the plate shattering on the pool patio. “I can smell him!” The rage in Zoro's words actually scared the blond, an overwhelming fear rising up even as Sanji tried to push it back. He sounded so feral and aggressive, an anger there that he had never seen from the blind dragon. Didn't know he was capable of possessing.

His tail snapped in the air like an angry cat, the tufted end flicking about as green and gray and blue flashed in the sun, blinding the chef for a moment. The scales looked razor sharp as they swished over him and there was a snort as a heat settled in the air, the sound of the dragon's heavy breathing filling Sanji's ears.

Twisting once more, body seeming to almost dart back and forth, Zoro coiled around Sanji as he managed to get to his feet. He swayed a moment, his shoulders stinging and his head throbbing. With a groan, the blond looked up, peering through narrowed eyes at the white blinded eye of the dragon. Even as his body coiled tighter, slithering and weaving about itself, the dragon turned his head, the blinded white eye wide as he cocked his head to look at the chef. Sanji could see the fear on his face in that eye's reflection, specs of gold flitting about like fireflies in the night. Growling again, Zoro snapped his jaws threateningly as he jerked his head about, smelling at the air.

Sanji froze when that deadly muzzle snapped to face him, nostrils flared and whiskers flicking about angrily. He parted his mouth slightly, teeth bared in an aggressive snarl and the blond wondered if the creature would think twice about biting him in half. “He's here.” Zoro spoke lowly, dangerously, flexing his front feet, the claws breaking and turning up the lawn under them. He bobbed his head up and down, trying to pinpoint the exact location of whatever it was he was after. The chef took a step back, ass hitting the dragon's flanks and he pressed his hands against the warm body. The blond could feel the muscles rippling underneath the hard scale, tightening and relaxing as the dragon continued to move and tighten the coils his body had made.

Moving to the side, one small step, Sanji cut his palm on a scale and sucked in a hissed breath, glancing in wide eyed horror at the blood as it welled from his hand. The drake reacted then, snarling and opening his jaw, lounging at Sanji in the enclosed space and slamming a foot against his chest as he unwound himself.

Next thing Sanji knew he was in the pool, water flooding his mouth as a hand wrapped in his shirt and held him under. He kicked with both feet, but found nothing. No foot hold and no body to slam into. All his training went out the window as he choked on a mouthful of water and both hands went to his shirt, trying in vain to get the grip to let go. He knew it was Zoro, could tell by the dark skin and the warmth that radiated from him even in the cold water. He wondered for a moment if this was what they did to people when they outlived their usefulness. Just let the dragon kill them in his pool.

The meager amount of air he still held onto left his mouth, his ears began to ring and his eyes began to lose their focus when that grip hauled him up and out of the water. The chef sucked in a deep breath, his own grip still wrapped tightly around Zoro's as he tried to gain his footing in the shallow end of the pool. Choking and coughing, Sanji barely heard the sound of Zoro's voice when he spoke. “Cook?” The dragon sounded confused now as he let him go. Sanji looked up, wiping a hand across his face as the lizard hauled himself out of the pool, looking back into the garden and sniffing at the air. “No, that's not right. I can smell him!”

Furrowing his brow, the chef stood a moment, sucking in great gulps of air as he willed the ringing in his head to leave. Vision clearing slightly, Sanji closed his eyes and tried to take a deep and calming breath. His heart was still racing though and it was harder than he thought it would be. “Who?!” Sanji turned to the girls where they were now standing by the pool edge as well. Perona's ear buds where hanging around her neck, hands poised awkwardly, but for what he didn't know. Both of them had wide eyed looks on their faces, even as Robin watched the blind drake carry on about the lawn. Sniffing at the air and whipping his whole body back and forth. He crouched slightly as he did so, looking as if he were about to spring and flee, or fight, hands balled into fists as his bare toes dug into the grass.

“He's  _ here! _ ” The dragon insisted, spinning back to the pool and jumping back into the water. He waded over to Sanji, hands pushing back the water as if it would make him move faster. He still had a wild look about him, the one eye wide and senses on high alert. Grabbing him by the shoulders, even as the blond tried to flinch away, Zoro snarled and sucked in a deep breath through his nose before rumbling another deep growl. “Where did you go today? Why do you smell like him? And you? I don't understand! I can't feel him.” Shaking Sanji by the shoulders roughly, sending new waves of stinging pain down his back, Sanji tried to comprehend the whirlwind of questions thrown at him. Zoro seemed to grow more and more upset by the second and all they could do was watch. “Why'd you get in the way?! I had him! Cook! Answer me!”

“What are you talking about?” Sanji pulled away, smacking the hands off him and moving to climb out of the pool. As much as he would have normally given anything to be this close to the other man, the chef wanted nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible. He was just glad he seemed to have survived this whole ordeal.

“Zoro calm down.” Robin's voice cut through the air. “This isn't helping anyone, least of all yourself. Getting worked up into a panic—”

“I'm not panicking!” He snapped at her, panic clear in his words as he slammed a fist into the water and transformed yet again, his tail splashing everyone present. “He's here though. Or...or he was. I could smell him in the house and back here! Now all I can smell is the Cook! I don't understand!” He gave a strangled noise and clawed his way out of the pool, half running, half loping around the area. Ironically, it actually did remind Sanji of an otter, but the thought was fleeting, swallowed up by the anger he felt at this entire house. No one had even batted an eye at the fact that Zoro had just tried to kill him! Again! More concerned for some stupid reptile who had clearly lost his mind!

“I never left you blind bastard!” Hauling himself out of the water, Sanji scowled over at the swaying reptile, leaving a small flood of water on the concrete. “The fuck's he talking about?” Snapping an arm out towards Zoro, he scowled over at the girls.

“We will try to calm him Sanji, why don't you go to your room and change.” Perona finally spoke, moving to place one ear bud back in. Zoro splashed back into the pool, circling around and splashing small waves of water all over the place. She took a slow step towards the dragon, raising her hands out in front of her. “We will come get you if something happens.”

“Be careful Cook! He's close.” Zoro slithered out of the pool, raising himself up on all four feet as tall as his body would let him. He growled as he swung his head about once more, trying to find whatever it was he had lost. Man, the dragon was going crazy today! The Southern Green huffed, blowing water from his nose and snapping his feeler like whiskers towards Perona before swinging his head back towards the sky.

“Yeah...” Shaking his head, Sanji walked away without another word and had to chuckle darkly to himself when no one even made a mention of his own safety after that. The main concern here was Zoro, as usual, with no concern to the fact that the stupid dragon had almost killed him...again!

Sloshing through the kitchen, the chef took off his shoes and made his way, damply, down the carpeted hall to his room. Maybe he should just go. It would be easier on everyone if he took care of the disposal of himself personally. He could be packed and gone before any one was aware he was even missing. Wet clothes and new bruising as well, one last parting gift from the most fucked up months of his life.

Snapping his hands closed, his nails bit into the gash across his hand and he actually cried out in pain, looking down at his palm and fingers, all stained with blood. This was bullshit. Plain and simple. This entire episode tonight had caused damage to his hand, the one single part of his body that he cherished more than anything. Let alone all the rest of it. His body just hurt all over. It really wasn't worth it. Working here wasn't worth all he had learned if he did any permanent damage to his hands. Then what? Where would that leave him? He was done.

That thought made him stop outside his door and he scrunched up his face in dis-concern. Would anyone really care if he just...walked out? Or would they be happy he was gone? Twisting his doorknob sharply, Sanji kicked the door closed behind him and pulled off his shirt. He had never just quit a job like this before, yet again this wasn't your typical job. He had been stepped on, had bones broken, knocked out time after time, was being trained to be a weapon...branded, for lack of a better term and now had just become a dragon's rag doll in an attempted drowning. A fucking dragon! That in its own right was cause for raised eyebrows. No one had mentioned that. Mihawk certainly hadn't during that meeting deemed an interview. And the fact that this entire thought process was now something Sanji considered  _ normal _ should have been alarming in its own right!

He changed quickly, throwing his wet clothes into a plastic bag and stuffing everything into his suit case. Sanji fished out his keys and the other few things he has acquired from being here and tossed them into the middle of the bed. Letting the hush of the room fall over him, Sanji gave a sharp nod and grunted slightly. “Yeah...good riddance.” Throwing his jacket over his shoulders, the blond inhaled deeply. Part of him was pissed at himself for...abandoning his job, but as he felt the throbbing in his palm, he knew he couldn't do this. He had never signed up for this. Wouldn't of signed up for this had he been told this was going to become his daily routine.

 


	25. Book Two: Sapphire

Letting go of the door knob, Sanji snapped his unwounded hand into a fist and glanced down at his forearm. The images of the runes burned into his flesh haunted his mind still and he felt a momentary pang of regret at leaving with this insane gift from Sabo. He didn't seem to think of him as only a tool and from what had been explained to him, to bestow the power the elemental did to Sanji was no laughing matter.

Sighing, he walked down the hall, wet shoes in hand as he padded down the lush carpet in his sneakers. It was fitting in a way, as he made no sound as he walked. He had arrived on a quiet whim and would leave just the same. The place was entirely too explosive with him around. There was always something and besides...this wasn't even his fight. Who cared what happened to the realm of magicks if Hydra managed to kill off Zoro and his brother? It wasn't like it could affect him, could it?

A wash of hurt came over him causing him to pause in the hall. He wouldn't say he loved that damned reptile, but he certainly cared about him and he really didn't want to see him dead. Or any of them for that matter. Still, after Zoro had once again just tried to kill him; Sanji knew it was time to go. He didn't fit in and his staying was just making everything worse.

No one had come looking for him either and a shudder ran through him as he heard the loud silence fall over the hushed manor. Something wasn't right. For a moment Sanji thought to forget this entire idea, turn back and go find the others, try to help calm the dragon and work through what may have set him off. Law could heal him and they could just try and figure out what exactly Zoro was freaking out over.

A flare of pain swam up his spine and spread over his shoulders, curbing his train of thought and making him walk for the front door. They were on their own. He was leaving. Going back to his old home and his old life. It would suck, but he could do it.

Pulling open the heavy front door, Sanji closed it behind him and set his suitcase down on the porch. Inhaling deeply, feeling the ache in his chest from the dragon's foot, he shrugged on his jacket fully and took a look around the horrible front yard. The place was still dead and barren, quite the opposite of the back yard with its lush foliage and brilliant colors. He could walk back to the market and find a way into town from there. It wouldn't take too long to get there.

The sun was beginning to set as he made his way down the steps and across the broken walk, the oranges, pinks and blues of the sky blending together in a perfect late summer sunset. Maybe his old man would let him back into the house for a little bit, just until he could get the money to get his own place again. Sanji certainly wasn't expecting his old job back, but it would be nice. Letting his hand heal for a few days would be ideal as well. Maybe there could be a way he could incorporate Sabo's gift into his cooking so that it didn't go to waste.

The road he stepped onto was quiet, the pavement cracked and the lines faded. Grass and sparse trees rose up on his left and the manor grounds with the large water body on his right. If he walked this direction a little ways, he would come to the bridge and then the field with the market and he would be able to vanish back into the normal world and hopefully forget all that had happened here.

It was nice to have it be quiet. Even the birds made no noise as he walked, the slight scuff of his shoes the only sounds he could hear. Faintly the rhythm of water lapping against the shore could be heard, but that was something he was so used to the blond normally just tuned it out. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the pain, Sanji tried to calm himself. It was over. He was out of there and no one had yet to come looking. Granted it hadn't been maybe more than a half an hour, but still, one would have thought by now they would have wanted to at least check in on him.

Ironically, he would miss them. He got along with them all, or well, mostly, it seemed like no one besides Perona truly got along with Zoro. But none of them were bad people, Sanji just didn't belong there. The chef frowned as he walked, knowing he would miss being able to dote on the girls, bringing them tea and snacks in Robin's library. Or gain Perona's help in the kitchen even though time after time he told her it was unnecessary.

The guys as well. Usopp was always a good time and he had learned a lot about herbs and whatnot from the weird faun. Luffy was a handful, but a decent help when one could get him to focus. And Zoro...well, the dragon was something else. Rough and put offish, getting beyond that outer wall took some effort, but even the brooding dragon wasn't all bad.

Rounding a slight bend, the railings of the bridge coming into sight, the chef tilted his head in slight confusion as he noticed another figure on the road. They were walking down what would have been the double yellow lines with out a care in the world and subconsciously Sanji slowed his pace, leery of others at this point. Stuffing a hand into his pocket, he gripped onto his lighter, chewing at his lip and really wanting to fish out a smoke.

He jerked to do so, body taking a moment longer than normal to begin the actions, pulling one from the pack in his pocket as he narrowed his eyes at the figure. He knew him and the realization hit the chef harshly. It was the guy from the market today! That damned son of a bitch who sat at his table with him. Stomach rumbling, Sanji realized he still hadn't eaten since breakfast and a wave of nausea ran through him.

Why was this guy here? And why was he walking towards the manor? He had seemed sketchy to begin with and now he was dangerously close to where the blind dragon resided. He knew his fingers were shaking, the end of the cigarette moving slightly as Sanji set it against his lip and flicked the lighter. The little flame flared to life, brighter and larger than it should have been. Inhaling, the slight burn from his marks began as well and the chef knew that even if his mind set was leaving consciously, his body was going into defensive mode, ready to attack if need be.

Pain washed over his whole body. He was already hurt, the dragon's attacks doing a number on him, but there was no way he could just walk passed this. Just let this guy head to the manor. Not when he was here and he could do something about it.

Very well. One last parting favor for those guys back there and then it was over with. Letting his suitcase slip from his fingers, Sanji inhaled the first drag, stepping into a stance and waiting. The loud laugh hit him first, that sound managing to some how echo even out here in the open. The chef could feel his body preparing for the fight he knew was to come, the push and pull of his chakras and the flood of energy that coursed through him from the runes in his arm.

Darkness descended quicker than it should have, the sun sinking below the horizon leaving everything in a gray twilight. The muscles in his legs twitched, tensing with the knowledge of a fight as Sanji sucked a drag off his smoke, exhaling through his nose and never letting his eyes stray from the man as he approached. “Look what we have here...” his voice trailed off with another laugh.

The blond snapped his hands into fists, feeling the sting of his cut and shifting one foot back a little more. “What are you doing out here?”

“Can't a man go for a little walk along the coast?” Throwing an arm out towards the water, he stopped moving and gave a wide, teeth missing grin. “Could ask the same of you...Sanji.”

“How the hell do you know my name?!” The flare of his anger sparked the runes and they flared with the same heat he felt when they had first been burned into his arm, but there was no pain this time. The cherry of his smoke burned a bright red, the thin stream of smoke trailing from it growing dark as it drifted away from him. “Who the hell are you?” The chef growled out, all his instincts telling him this guy was bad news.

The man gave another low laugh, spreading both arms wide and tilting his head slightly. “Give it your best shot. You are no match for me. I can guarantee that one boy.” The tone was mocking, as if he didn't take Sanji seriously at all and it struck him hard. Even Zoro had begun to consider his moves when sparring with him. The chef had made that much progress in his fighting. So to have this...nobody simply dismiss him? It raged through him and Sanji moved, automatically falling into moves he knew worked, darting one direction, then the other before swinging around with a heel that was meant to connect with this asshole's jaw and at the very least crack bone.

The forearm that came up, blocking almost effortlessly threw him for a loop and Sanji's eyes widened in shock as he fell back, taking to the air a step or two to give him that added space quickly before dropping back to the ground in a crouch. “Well, you have some strength behind you. And chakra control.” Another laugh and this guy was really starting to get on Sanji's nerves! “I'm impressed.”

Growling, Sanji took off again, striking off from his crouched position and letting the runes take control. The energy that ripped through his blood, about his body and down his legs was instantaneous and the bright light that flared up in the darkness brought a sneer to the blond's face. That seemed to get the other man's attention as he took a step back, another one of Sanji's sure swings falling useless.

The flames licked up his leg as he landed on the pavement once more, the cracks and pops of the element keeping that smug grin on his face. “I'm not what I appear to be.” Pulling the cigarette from his mouth, Sanji held it between pointer and middle fingers as he pointed at the other man. “I suggest you turn and leave. You are not welcome on this land. This is private property and you're trespassing.”

“Are you the guard dog?” Taking a deep breath and twisting his hands slightly, the larger man chuckled. Sanji became aware of a deep aura, a darkness unlike anything he had seen before, but some how it reminded him of Robin's tendrils, the long thick smoke like appendages moving from the spot underneath the man's feet. “You're a poor excuse of one. Leaving the safety of your house reeking of your master.”

“What are you talking about?” Sanji swung out, a well placed kick to the first of the smoke tendrils, shock evident when he hit solid mass instead of passing through it. Instantly the tentacle snaked around his leg, twisting up to his knee and trying to snuff out his fire. Jerking his leg back towards him, Sanji growled low in his throat as he snapped his attention to the man laughing at him.

The tentacles rose around him, flailing and snapping in the air. The one around his leg withdrew randomly, coiling back upon itself and joining in with the others like feelers in the air. The sky continued to darken, a low fog-like cloud settling low above their heads, the weird man beginning to walk towards Sanji calmly. “I can smell him you know. I could smell him in the market.” He gave a loud laugh, one hand resting on his gut like this was a huge joke.

The chef bit down on his smoke, grinding into the filter and letting rage fuel his actions. He felt heat flickering into life against his other ankle, the calves of both legs feeling the licking heat of the flames now. His arm burned intensely, making him keep his hand closed in a tight fist. “Who? Like I said...you're not welcome here. Get lost.”

“Honestly...” the man started and Sanji caught the telltale shimmer of a shape shifter, the heated aura as it swam around the brute of a man still stalking towards him. One tendril snapped out and the blond barely dodged it, jumping back and snapping into the air, hanging a few feet about the ground with ease. “You are no match for me.”

As he finished, all the tentacles rushed forwards, trying to latch onto the chef and it took all Sanji had to dodge. He did well for a moment, using his abilities he'd learned from Law, Zoro and Sabo, striking and dodging with ease and his typical flare of finesse. He lost sight of the man, but it didn't stop the sound of his laughter from seeming to echo about the dark thick fog rolling in.

“You are no match for me!” He repeated and his voice seemed to come from everywhere and no where, the young chef unable to pinpoint the exact location of the words spoken to him. Heavily he dropped back to the ground, his cigarette lost at some point and dropped to his knees as the fatigue of using his chakras so much caught up to him. His body throbbed in pain, the previous wounds to his back, shoulders and chest flaring with all his dodging. The flames withered and died about his feet and Sanji fell forwards, hands resting against the cool pavement as he sucked in deep breaths, trying to calm his breathing and racing heart.

The tendrils didn't attack though for some reason and the blond looked up curiously to wonder why. They were still there, boxing him in from all sides, slithering and curling against one another like a pit of headless snakes, looking to one another to guide them on their blind journey. What in the hell was he dealing with anyways?

“The smell...” The words came out in a growl from somewhere behind Sanji and he snapped a wide eyed glare over his shoulder and he got to his feet, body shaking and fighting him as he did so. He hated feeling this weak, this tired, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. “It's been so long.” This time the voice sounded in front of him and Sanji spun completely around, trying to pinpoint a location to kick at, staggering a little as he did so. “So long indeed.”

A force knocked into his back, causing him to cry out and throwing him to the ground. He rolled over onto his side with a groan, propping himself up on an elbow. Swallowing, Sanji looked around as the laugh sounded again, but all he could see was the black fog and the weaving madness of the tendrils. Two large glowing red eyes blinked into life, a long fanged snout snaking into view.

The chef gasped, the only thoughts coming to mind that this was another dragon. That was the only possible explanation. Maybe this was Phoenix, but if so, why was he acting like this? Zoro and the others made him out to be a decent guy...well as decent as Sanji supposed a dragon could be. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he opened his mouth to speak, to try to explain his actions, when a deep growl vibrated through the air.

It didn't come from the head in front of him, the glowing eyes watching him carefully and the blond swore under his breath as the realization hit him. Scrabbling to get to his feet, the force of the hit knocked him back to the ground, chest and stomach pressed tightly to the road. Turning his head, Sanji saw a second, then a third head snake out of the fog. The three identical sets of eyes bobbing in the air slightly as they watched his useless struggle under the weight that bared down on him.

A claw clacked against the pavement right next to Sanji's head and he huffed out a lungful of air as it became hard to breathe, the growing pressure from what he could only assume now was a foot baring down on him. Struggling to inhale, he exhaled again, the creature's name barely passing his lips. “Hydra!”

“So,” one head started, the word seeming to slither out of the dripping fangs, almost the same way the heads appeared from the fog. The claw gripping him tightened, picking him up off the ground and turning him so he could face this monster. A second head, then the third spoke, the sentence broken and choppy as the words passed from one head to the next. “You do know who I am.”

He looked nothing like his brothers. Zoro was all grace and elegance, the fleeting pictures he had seen of Ruby had been the same, each dragon a shining representation of a part of culture and their element. This though, this...thing that was once known as the master of the element of earth was nothing like them. Black scales and red eyes, multiple heads and an aura darker and more threatening than Zoro had been on his worse of days.

A fear shook through Sanji's body unwillingly even as that claw gripped him tighter, the talons digging in to his flesh and pinning his arms to his sides. Intense pain rocked his entire core and he could feel his bones strain under the force being used against him. He couldn't move, couldn't struggle, couldn't fight. Sanji's vision clouded over, darkness threatening the corners of his eyes and he wondered if he was going to survive this time around before passing out.

 


	26. Book Three: Onyx

Zoro was still going nuts when Usopp arrived in the back yard. The dragon had torn up most of the lawn and the faun gave a defeated sigh as he walked over to where everyone was standing. Perona was inching closer to him, arms raised in a non threatening way as he snorted and blew water from his nose. “What's going on?” The gardener asked Robin as he came to stand next to her.

He didn't like seeing Zoro this shaken up, the last time he had seen him this upset was the night his village had been destroyed. Usopp had happened to stumble upon the Southern Green while Law had been in the middle of healing him, the great beast bleeding heavily and body in tatters. “We are not entirely sure, Usopp,” Robin replied in her calm voice. Her tendrils were feeling about, searching the grounds for any little clue they could pick up, dark purple snakes in the grass and the faun shuddered. He never did like them.

“Is...is Zoro okay?” He swallowed and stiffened as one of the tentacles snapped back towards him, feeling about his hooves before moving on past him. Out of habit he stomped a foot, not missing the glare the odinson threw his way. “Sorry,” he mumbled under his breath. “I'm just nervous.”

“Rightly so,” she agreed. “We all are a tad worried about him. He just reacted to something he won't explain, attacked Sanji and refuses to calm down.”

“Zoro attacked Sanji?!” Usopp yelled and that gained the unwanted attention of the drake. Zoro instantly shifted to his human form and practically ran over to them, pushing past Perona and knocking her to the ground in his hurry.

“Usopp!” Grabbing a hold of his shoulders, the dragon's eye was wide. Usopp wouldn't say it was fear, but it was something close to it. The blinded drake was more shaken up than he had thought and he hated seeing the other being this worried and upset. “Have you seen anything weird?”

He glanced at Robin before shaking his head. “N-no Zoro, I haven't. Is everything okay?”

“Where's the cook?” Zoro snapped his head around, head tilted up slightly as he sniffed at the air again.

“Sanji?” The faun took a step back, but Zoro's hands gripped into his bare shoulders and he stopped. “I haven't seen him since we came back from the market.”

“The market?! You don't smell any different. Why would—” He stopped with a growl and spun, hands snapping into fists as the dragon turned his sightless gaze towards the sky once more. “He's here! I can  _ feel _ him now. I have to—”

“Zoro! No!” Perona yelled and Robin moved, crossing her arms across her chest and snapping her hands into fists. Instantly the tendrils moved, shot out and wrapped around the dragon. Locked onto his wrists and his ankles, his waist and chest, effectively pinning the man to his spot in the grass. Usopp could see his hands flexing in their hold, his whole body tensing as he growled low and snapped his gaze in the librarian's direction.

The white eye was glowing brightly, the flecks of gold flashing in the dim light of the setting sun. The automatic yard lights flickered on, but did nothing to dim the light that shone in the dragon's eye. Usopp repressed the urge to flee. He wasn't a kid anymore, but a grown ram and his friend and guardian needed him. He couldn't do anything all that time before, but this time, he could do something. “What is it?” He asked quietly, looking to Perona as she pulled that single remaining bud from her ear and took a deep breath, hands moving from her waist towards up her shoulders, fingers splayed.

Twisting her wrists as she closed her hands, she stretched her arms out at shoulder height before opening her hands once more, fingers turned up towards the sky. Exhaling the breath, she pulled her arms back to her sides, muttering in hushed tones in some language he didn't understand. She had explained to him once it was ancient Latin and the phrase she used was a call. A spell of sorts to have her minions heed her and answer her when she needed it.

“Robin! Let me go!” Zoro pulled Usopp's attention away from the spell Perona was weaving as the blind dragon struggled against the tendrils. The faun knew he could have easily broken them, but they were a part of Robin, an extension of herself and despite Zoro being a lot of things, he wouldn't ever willingly hurt one of them. Granted he had done so mistakenly several times, learning to move without his sight and when he got excited over something, whether good or bad, but the gardener also knew it was the one reason he was still standing in the backyard.

“No.” The odinson's voice was firm, her tone low and commanding. “You are  _ not _ going anywhere. I see now what you are reacting to and I am not going to let you blindly chase him down.”

“Who?” Usopp snapped his attention back to Perona, who was now standing with her arms crossed. The slight pout on her face really didn't fit as the ground around her feet trembled and broke, skeletal limbs reaching for the sky before bodies followed, her small undead army pulling themselves from the ground to ring around their master and wait for command.

There may have only been five or six of them, but each one was more hideous than the last; Usopp wrinkled his nose as the strong scent of death filled the back yard. Rotten flesh hung from bones, tattered clothing barely staying on, but each held a weapon and a shield, slamming them against one another in some sort of battle rally, looking for a fight. They stood their ground as well, circling Perona and raising shields defensively, but not moving more till the necromancer gave her command. One of them lost the helm they were wearing, a loud wail erupting from it's jaw as it shakily bent down to retrieve the broken horned item.

“Hydra.” Robin hissed out coldly, flicking her attention to the clamor the undead where making, before turning back to Zoro. “That's why you attacked Sanji. You could smell him on our chef. When could he have encountered him at the Market though?”

“Perona!” The dragon snorted, shaking his head as if he was trying to get away from the smell. “Send them away! I can't stand their odor. The filth.” He seemed to relax in the tendrils' hold, turning to try to bury his nose in his shoulder. “I let his scent get the better of me.” Muttering into his shoulder, the white eye seemed to dim and the dragon closed his eye with a defeated sigh.

“Indeed.” Opening her hands, Robin let her arms fall to her sides and her aura released the dragon, where he sank to the ground in a cross legged position.

“He's out there! Right now!” Zoro threw a hand towards the outside wall, slamming the other into the grass. “I don't know where but he's close. He may be coming here!”

A low moan and a slam of a sword hilt on wood sounded from one of the undead warriors and Perona snapped her fingers before nodding at the disgusting creature. Raising her arms slightly, she spoke again, closing her open hands into fists and lowering them to her sides. Same as they appeared, the warriors sank back into the ground, wails and moans following each and every one of them. Usopp did shudder at this, but the pink haired girl just calmly put an ear bud back in and walked over to where Zoro was sitting. She crouched down in front of him, pressing a hand against his cheek and getting the dragon to turn his head. “I sent them off to find him.” She spoke quietly and the dragon seemed to perk up slightly at her words. “If he touched ground anywhere, I will know shortly.”

“Thank you.” Zoro nodded slightly, his own words quiet. “Robin, send the ravens. I want to know if he is in the air.” Standing, the dragon, brushed some dirt off his legs and Usopp was relieved to see his friend was much calmer now. “Find the cook. And Law. I'm going to find Mihawk.” The green drake turned and walked off, purposeful strides into the house, the slam of the screen door echoing loudly. There was a faint call of the Master's name that seemed to echo around the kitchen.

Usopp scratched at his horns, slumping his shoulders and dropping his arm to smack at his side. “Look at what he did to the lawn! I will go find Sanji, I guess.” Turning, the faun stopped and flicked his tail. “Wha...what happens if he comes here?” Robin gave him a dark look, but didn't answer. Not that he needed her to speak. The gardener knew what it meant. They would fight and there was no way of knowing if Zoro could win this time. He was clearly at a disadvantage here.

“We sent him to his room. Zoro...” The pink haired girl stopped, motioning to her chest with a frown. “Knocked them both into the pool and held him under. I think he cut his hand too. We were so distracted by Zoro I didn't even think to see how he was. We just sent him to his room.”

Nodding, the faun took a couple steps towards the house. “I will get him! I will find Law too, he should be able to easily heal a cut hand!” Grinning, Usopp waved a hand, trying to not let the foreboding fight cloud his mind and made his way into the house. The kitchen was quiet still, but with everything that was going on that really didn't seem all that odd. If Sanji had indeed hurt his hand, he wouldn't be down here prepping for dinner just yet. Maybe he had gone to find Law of his own accord.

Usopp made his way through the dinning room and down the hall, stopping when he came to the doctor's door and knocked on it loudly. Law opened it, eyes narrowed from under his hat, his glare proving that the faun was interrupting something. “What is it Usopp-ya? I'm busy.”

“Have you seen Sanji?”

“Not since we returned from the horrid trip to the market; no.” Rolling his eyes, the doctor leaned on the door frame, crossing his arms and his legs. “Has he gone missing?”

“Zoro attacked him and Perona said he got hurt. I'm headed to his room, I just wasn't sure if he came to see you already or not.”

“No, but I will let you know if I see him.” The doctor pushed off the frame, moving to close his office door, but Usopp slammed a hand against it, chuckling nervously when the other man glanced at him over his shoulder.

“Zoro wanted you. He went to get Master Mihawk, but he wanted to get us all together. H—Hydra was mentioned.”

“Hydra?!” That drew the dark haired man's attention and Law stepped out into the hall, closing his office door. “Is he here?”

“He—Zoro said he was close by. He could smell him, Zoro could. Almost took off after him, but Robin stopped him.”

“I just finished with Sabo-ya and he mentioned heading towards the library to speak with Koala-ya. I will retrieve them both and head for...” The doctor trailed off, raising an eyebrow at the faun.

“I think the garden. I won't be long.” Without giving Law a chance to respond, Usopp bounded down the hall and made his way up the stairs to the bedrooms. Sanji's room was right next to his own, but he paused as he noticed the door cracked open. “Hey, Sanji...” Knocking on the door, the faun pushed it open and peered into the darkness.

The blond's scent was on everything, but that wasn't all that surprising, not really as this was his room after all and Usopp gave an anxious mutter at not receiving an answer to his call. He spoke again, a little louder this time and flicked on the light by the door.

* * *

 

 

He was out of breath by the time he got back to the garden, thankful that everyone seemed to be there with the exception of Zoro and Master Mihawk. Hands on his knees, Usopp held up a hand, finger pointed towards the area of the house where the bedrooms were. “...Sanji...”

The word came breathless and he swallowed, dropping into the grass as Koala flitted into his face. The little fae darted about before diving away and morphing to her full size. “What about him?”

“He's—”

“Gone!” Zoro slammed open the screen door, Mihawk striding quickly behind him. “I picked up his scent in the hall by the front and it led right out the front door and down the walk.” The dragon growled low and glared in the manor master's direction.

“I already informed you, running...blind, forgive the word, into a fight against Onyx is a bad idea Zoro.” How Master Mihawk could remain this calm, Usopp wasn't sure. He nodded and pointed over to those two as they joined the circle that had formed in the garden.

“So you  _ weren't _ sparring out here?” Sabo tipped his hat back, not even flinching at Koala morphed again and landed on the brim of the hat, her small feet dangling into his eyes.

“Sparring? What? No. Why?” The dragon snapped his attention towards the fire elemental, confusion clear on his features. His scarring wrinkled awkwardly as he scrunched his face up.

Luffy helped the faun back to his feet and Usopp clapped a hand onto his shoulder in thanks, both turning their attention to the conversation. The blond blinked, his black eyes wide as he now seemed much more worried than he had a moment before. “Sanji's energy pulled. I ignored it because I figured you were out here training or something. It was quick in flux then it just stopped. It is about dinner time after all.”

Usopp felt his knees go weak and he swallowed audibly. “You don't think Sanji...that he actually fought him, do you?” The faun's stomach turned and he felt sick. “There's no way that—”

“Sanji is not dead, I can tell you that much.” Sabo confirmed instantly and there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief throughout the group. “But beyond that...” The elemental trailed off with a shrug.

“Perona.” Zoro spoke again, his tone commanding and final. He crossed his arms and turned his gaze fully onto the pink haired girl, who didn't even bat an eye at the fierce glare she was receiving. Usopp felt a shudder run through his body. He knew the dragon would never truly hurt anyone he cared about, but right now he looked rather intimidating.

“One will return when they find something of use. I can't control their very actions, besides I have no idea what exactly I am looking for!” Hands balling into fists at her sides, Perona snapped right back at the dragon, who snorted and Usopp could only assume he rolled his eye. Was hard to tell actually as he clicked his tongue and huffed.

Nami and Brook came rushing into the yard, both of them cawing loudly and flapping about as they scrabbled for perches on Robin's shoulders. Honestly she looked a little overwhelmed with them both warbling into her ears and her expression quickly changed to shock, her own eyes widening as she jerked her back back slightly.

“What are they saying?” Master Mihawk asked about the same instant Zoro sucked in a sharp breath and spun away from the group, head tilting back to look into the clouds once more. With one more loud caw, Nami took off into the air once more, flying high into the sky and banking back around the house and out of sight.

“Zoro?” Robin's voice was quiet, her tone full of wonder and she took a step towards the dragon, who's gaze was locked onto the black sky. There was no moon out tonight and the depth of the night could really be felt as Usopp found himself looking up into the sky as well.

“Yes.” Came the dragon's simple reply before an arm shot out to the side, pointing high into the sky and he took a step back, pushing Robin with him as a cloud dropped out of the sky.

 


	27. Book Three: Onyx

Sanji woke with a start. He felt groggy and his eyes, along with everything else just felt heavy. His head was pounding, the sharp pain behind his eyes and throbbing in the back of his skull making him want to lay still and give in to the darkness that still seemed to threaten him. Taking a deep breath, or well trying too, as pain shot through his core, the blond groaned and curled tighter in on himself.

His entire body hurt and he felt drained, the hum of exhaustion filling his muscles and burning throughout his entire being. It was probably best if he tried to lay still and focus on one small thing at a time. First off, actually opening his eyes. If he could see what he was doing, Sanji was sure he could assess the rest of the his problems before he formulated a way to get out of wherever the hell it was he was.

Things came to him slowly as he mustered the strength to do the most simple things. He remembered Hydra and the fight, the pain that rocked his core when the beast grabbed him in his claws. The attack by Zoro as well, even though he knew now the stupid newt was most likely just smelling his brother on him and freaking out about that. Maybe he had overreacted a bit by leaving before he knew all the details. Zoro was an asshole most of the time, but somewhere Sanji knew he wouldn't have hurt him purposefully like that.

A shudder ran through him and he became aware that a dampness was seeping into his side and the chef could only guess he was laying on the ground somewhere. Hard like packed dirt, yet smooth like stone. This gave him no idea as to where he could still possibly be. Forcing himself to inhale deeply, teeth grit against the new wave of incoming pain, Sanji opened his eyes.

Or well he hoped he had. Everything was still black and his first reaction was that he had lost his sight somehow along the way and a choked gasp left him. It took his attled brain a moment to catch up to the rest of him and it occurred to him that it was possible that where ever he was, it was just dark. Maybe he was underground or deep in a building where no light could reach. Hell, Zoro did live in a cave under the manor after all, what's to say his brother didn't do the same?

Slowly he tried stretching out his body, feeling the pull of his sore muscles and the stiffness in his back and neck. The pull of one wrist as he moved the other; a rope like cord seemed wrapped around them tightly. Honestly it wasn't all that surprising, but it still unnerved him to know that he was bound at wrist and ankle. The chef wasn't sure which worried him more, the thick and heavy cuffs around his feet harboring his ability to most likely walk and fight or the thinner, but just as tight ones around his wrists. He could just picture the bruising to the base of his hands and up his arms from them. They felt weird though as he ran the tips of his fingers over them, tacky and organic, not really rope at all and a shudder ran through him at what they could possibly be.

Flexing them carefully, biting hard at his lip to take his mind off how bad his nerves wanted a cigarette right now, Sanji hissed in pain as he felt the gash across his hand crack open. Dried blood filled his palm and a thick wet warmth flowed over that. A new throbbing started in his hand and Sanji closed his fist, fingers pressed carefully, but tightly over the wound in what he hoped was a decent effort to stop the blood flow again. He knew the cut wasn't life threatening in the sense that he would bleed to death, but it was on his  _ hand _ and that was enough to make him want to cry.

Sniffling once, refusing to break down even more and honestly not sure if tears would even come if he wanted, Sanji lay still once more. Wanting to sit up, to get as much of his body off the floor as possible, he knew it would take a lot of effort right now and the blond wanted to regain as much of his energy as he could before he struggled to his knees.

One small thing at a time, he reminded himself as he focused more on slowing his breathing and wishing the throbbing in his head would subside. Thinking would be that much easier if his head would clear.

With a groan, Sanji moved, pressing his good hand flat against the floor and shifting his weight up. It took effort, arms shaking the whole time but he managed to get his legs under him and in triumph sat back on his heels and let his body slump over itself. His bound hands rested between his slightly open knees, his forearms on his thighs as he willed the world to stop spinning. Short and shallow breaths plagued him and Sanji knew this was bad, but he couldn't get himself to take that one deep breath he needed. His body unwilling to put itself into more pain right now when everything still sung in pain and even just sitting up like this made his back and shoulders ache. It was as if his entire body was refusing to hold his weight and his will alone was what was keeping it sitting upright at the moment.

Closing his eyes, focusing on the feel of his lids closing, Sanji forced that deep breath and held it, letting it out slowly and finally getting his body to calm down enough to focus once more on his surroundings. Or lack of them. He had no idea what size of a room he was in and there was no sound either to give it away. His shoes scraped along the floor when he shifted on his knees a little, but other than that it was deathly quiet.

After a moment a ringing started up in his ears and all the blond could hear was his own heart beat and his intakes of breath sounding way too loud to his own ears. More hearing than feeling himself start to take shallow breaths again, Sanji tried to calm down, but there was nothing like being locked inside your own head with no  _ sound _ to distract you. He couldn't afford to lose his mind here, not now. Not when he was in the position he was.

Stupidly he had left the manor without warning and he was fairly sure no one knew he was missing. Or if they did by now, they wouldn't even know where to begin to look for him, if they cared enough or even knew he had been attacked. No, he was on his own here and he needed to keep his wits about him. Sanji couldn't let the silent darkness consume him, not anymore than he already had.

Dropping his head forwards, chin resting against his chest, the blond chewed at his lip again, the rising need for a cigarette consuming him. That smoky spark on his tongue and the rush of calming that flooded him at the first drag of a cigarette; Sanji bit down a little harder than he meant to and the copper tang of blood swept across his tongue.

Just great. Forcing himself to swallow, not daring to spit the taste away, he flexed his hands, feeling the squelch of wet and dried blood in his palm. There wasn't much he could do except wait and that annoyed him the most. He wasn't one to let things come to him, instead seeking out what he was after, but right now he couldn't do a thing. Could hardly move, let alone stand and even if he did get to his feet, Sanji had no idea how to get out of here or where here even was. No, the best course of action was to sit still and wait. Even if it greatly pissed him off to do so.

 

* * *

 

That was the only way Usopp could explain in. A dark rain cloud, the grays, whites and blues swirling about, not seeming to hold any type of pattern at all. Nami swooped back into the yard, claws grasping a tight hold onto Zoro's shoulder as she kept her wings spread and cawed loudly at the thing in the yard.

With a deep breath, the cloud  _ moved _ and Usopp yelped, jumping behind Perona, who seemed calm, but in awe of what was going on. Robin gasped as she stepped back against Franky, but Zoro stepped forwards a pace, his left arm raised and outstretched, the fingers of his hand splayed. The faun couldn't see the look on his friend's face, but from the way Koala flitted to light on Zoro's hand, Sabo and Luffy scrabbling over one another to reach the dragon, it must have been a good one.

Ebony taloned feet dug up more of the lawn as wings were raised and a head appeared, the sharp obsidian curve of the beak shining in the flood lights of the back lawn. The bird, Usopp was beginning to realize, twisted it's head to look over at Zoro, its black eyes two solid gems in the swirling mists that formed the body. “Roronoa,” the creature dipped its head slightly in acknowledgment of the dragon and fluttered a tail as it shifted from one foot to the other.

“Phoenix!” Zoro choked out before getting knocked to the ground in the tangle of limbs that was the golem and fire elemental. Koala was knocked up into the air, but the fae recovered quickly, flitting around the area excitedly. “Where have you been?!” His voice floated up from somewhere in the bottom of the pile and Usopp pulled his attention from the mass of arms and legs on the ground to the creature in the back yard.

This was Phoenix?! Zoro's eldest brother? Usopp took a moment of shock to really look at the large hawk like dragon in the yard. He didn't have scales like Zoro or feathers like a regular bird would, instead the body almost seemed covered in smoke, the grays and blacks like swirling ash in the wind, highlighted by the muted blues that seemed to fill in the gaps between. Settling his wings against his sides lightly, the older of the two dragons, twisted his head in the other direction, watching in slight amusement as Zoro clawed his way out from under the other two. “Still prefer that form I see.”

“No,” Grunting, the Green stood, wiping off his pants and running a hand through his hair. “Well, yes; but it's Mihawk's idea cause of our little brother.” Jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the group, Zoro spoke to his elder sibling like nothing was amiss. There was a calmness there that they rarely saw from the dragon.

Maybe it was just Zoro being thankful at having found him and knowing that they may be able to actually do something to avenge their brother's death. Instead of the normal bullheaded 'act without a plan' nature Usopp had grown to love about the dragon, there was a controlled tension in his person that seemed willing to wait for whatever it was that the Western Air had to say.

Phoenix clicked his beak, ducking his head down and causing the clouds and smoke around his head to plume up slightly as it trailed after him. “Such a nuisance. Why have you not taken care of him yet?”

“I...” Zoro stopped and snapped his jaw shut, turning his head to the side and remaining quiet. Usopp felt his jaw drop at the action. The dragon never acted like that. The Southern Green always had a come back, some witty retort to jab at you with. “I tried. I couldn't...I wasn't...” He trailed off, body tensing out of anger this time and Usopp wanted so badly to reach out to him.

He knew exactly what the dragon was referring to and that did not make him weak in the slightest. The faun knew that was what had to have been running through his friend's mind as the two had spoken of it before. When Zoro was beginning to learn how to maneuver without his sight, it was usually the gardener that was close by, watching and waiting to help if need be. He had rarely asked for it, of course, as stubborn as he is, but Zoro and Usopp had talked a lot and become quite close from the experience.

“You weren't...what?” In a whirlwind of smoke, Phoenix moved to Zoro, standing tall and peering down at his little brother harshly. Luffy and Sabo moved back a little, the intense presence of the eldest of the four dragons keeping even those two quiet. This was not a time to interfere, not that Usopp was really sure what he could say even if he did want to.

“Onyx is not such an easy burden to destroy.” It was Master Mihawk's voice that cut through the air and the large hawk-dragon's head snapped up to glare at him. “Zoro—”

“Zoro?” Phoenix parroted back, interrupting the Master's words.

“That's what they call me.” Zoro spoke quietly, but if his brother heard, he didn't take notice.

“Roronoa.” Master Mihawk corrected, dipping his head slightly as he did so. “He fought bravely, came out of it more dead than alive. This  _ nuisance _ killed your brother and yet you expected him to defeat Onyx?”

“All these names...Call them as they are.” Phoenix's claws dug into the dirt as he clicked his beak. “Hydra has always been a fool and he should have been easy to overcome. He has become disconnected from his element and that makes his weak.”

Zoro cringed visibly at his brother's words, but actually spoke this time, his voice regaining some of its usual gruff tone. “What was Portgas then? When our little brother killed him? Was he weak?” He craned his neck back to peer up at the other dragon, his hands snapping into fists at his sides. “And where have you been?! You leave us here to deal with him and now Portgas is gone! I didn't...” His voice broke and Zoro shook his head as he stopped.

A soft look flitted across the Blue's features before he turned back to Zoro. In a rolling move, Usopp could only describe it as the way a storm cloud rolls out along a low field, Phoenix took on a more human form, stepping up to his brother and actually giving him a hug. Zoro tried to move away from it, but Phoenix was taller and his reach longer, effectively trapping the younger dragon against his chest. He struggled for a moment, but with a huff, the Southern Green dropped his arms to his sides before slowly raising them back to grasp onto the waist band of his brother's pants.

“You are right Little Brother,” Phoenix spoke, dropping his head on top of Zoro's. The twos contrast in looks was just as drastic in their true forms as when they took their other forms as well. Usopp had never seen Ace before, but he had been told by Sabo that he looked a lot like Luffy does now and kinda like Zoro, enough at least where if you were told they were siblings, it would make sense.

Phoenix was nothing of the sort. His skin was lighter and his hair was blond, nothing more than an overgrown tuft at the top of his head. It reminded the faun of the head crest of a bird and yeah, that made sense, but it didn't fit in with what he knew of the dragons. His eyes were the same black as they were before and set deep into a tired looking face. He certainly fit the part of being the oldest, that much the gardener could agree with.

“You have grown,” He started, hands moving to Zoro's shoulders and he pushed him back to arms length. “Let me take a real look at you.” The small tired smile against his mouth fell as he actually took in his brother's appearance and Zoro shifted uncomfortably in the silence that fell over the backyard.

“What?” He asked quietly, not really needing to know what it was that Phoenix fell silent about. Usopp was sure he knew. The scarring across his face and the damage to his eyes was hard to miss, even for the most oblivious person. The scar across his chest may have been a bit easier to miss, but without Zoro wearing a shirt, it was plain as the brilliant white shine of his eye.

“Roronoa...what happened?” Phoenix spoke quietly, moving a hand to his brother's chin and turning Zoro's face one way then the other. Zoro simply let it happen before he pulled away and took a step back.

“I don't need your pity Phoenix,” he hissed and a part of the faun was excited to see his typical sarcasm back in his voice. “I am capable of functioning on my own.” Smacking the older dragon's hands away, Zoro moved to turn and walk away but his brother grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Who did this?” His tone was demanding and possessive all at the same time. Zoro had used that tone before as well and it was clear to everyone that stood there and watched that Phoenix was not going to stand for someone hurting his little brother this badly without it going unpunished. “Roronoa! Who took your sight from you?”

“Who do you think?!” Zoro growled out, the feral sound echoing around the back yard and a shudder ran through the faun. The dragon balled his hands into fists before he himself morphed into his dragon form. He reared back, tail flicking like an angry cat on the turned up grass and he actually hissed at his brother as he coiled around him in aggression. “It was Hydra, Phoenix. Our little brother did this and you have the nerve to come into my den and mock me for it?!”

 


	28. Book Three: Onyx

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Sabo spoke up, actually jumping up onto Zoro's flank and smacking his bo staff against one of the horns on the dragon's head. Snapping his jaw, Zoro turned to face the fire elemental, huffing loudly through his nose, whiskers twitching about angrily. “I don't think that is what he meant Zoro.” With a frown, Sabo spun his weapon, thunking it onto the dragon's side near his boot.

The green dragon bucked, easily throwing the blond off, but he did settle down, even if he stayed in his true form, wrapping himself bodily around Phoenix and resting his head on his front claws. The drake's tail flicked back and forth wildly though, reminding Usopp of an aggravated cat. His brother moved then, lightly reaching out and running a hand down his neck before moving back up to grasp a handful of his mane and ducking to look at the scarred side of his muzzle.

Reaching his free hand out, the Northern Blue ran his fingers over the deep tracks, the black lines that cut through the brilliant greens before patting his brother's snout and sighing deeply. Zoro closed his eye to the touch, simply giving in to what his older brother was doing and giving a deep sigh of his own. “Wh—what are you doing?” Usopp didn't even realize it was his voice that spoke till Robin turned to him with her brow raised.

Blinking, the faun looked at her wide eyed before snapping his gaze back to the two dragons. They were both ignoring everyone else around though, content to converse quietly. Phoenix was speaking lowly to Zoro now, the words lost to everyone, but the younger drake shifted back to his human form and sat down in the grass, crossing his legs and nodding sharply. Twisting his head up in the direction of his brother, the green haired man waited quietly. It was still very weird to see the normally so commanding dragon just sit and wait for orders from another.

They had to be speaking to one another telepathically, it was the only thing that made sense right now with the sudden change in both of them. They had done it before, or well, Zoro and Ace had numerous times, over the distance between them, so why not these two right here and now?

“Odinson,” Phoenix started, eyes moving to Robin then Franky as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I expect you to keep your distance for this. There are certain things even we request to keep private.” Without a word, Robin's tendrils, which had been slowly starting to snake around the yard once more, snapped back to her, rising around her and the mechanic defensively as they wormed their way towards the sky.

“What are you going to do to him?!” Perona yelled this time, weirdly staying quiet up until this point. Zoro and her had been through more than the rest of them and her will to protect him ran deep. As did his affection for her. He didn't show it often, but Usopp knew, out of them all, she was the one he cared the most for. Their bond went beyond the simplicity of Guardian and friends. Zoro had referred to her as the closest thing to a sister he had ever known. One hand twisted into the air in preparation for a fight, but it was Zoro who spoke, snapping his attention from Phoenix to her.

That white eye seemed to lock onto her, a dim glow casting shadows across his lashes. “Perona. Stop. It's okay.” His tone was docile, his acceptance at what was going to happen shocking all present. “It will help. I want this.”

Nami and Brook took off into the air once more, cawing as they soared above them all and off over the top of the house. Phoenix looked up, the hint of a weary smile on his face before he dropped to his knees next to Zoro. “As the Eldest, I have certain abilities he does not.” The older drake's voice was low and steady, an almost sleepy tone to his words as well as his looks.

“That's not cryptic or anything!” Still clearly upset, Perona's fists landed on her hips and she 'hmphed' loudly. Her disapproval was clear for all to see, but no one moved to stop her, not even Master Mihawk.

“Perona...” Zoro trailed off, shaking his head and taking a deep breath, letting his eye close and his body relax under his brother's care. “Everyone, you need to let him focus. This is important.” The green drake sat stock still as his brother moved to touch him, one hand coming to rest on his forehead. His voice held the commanding tone they were all used to as he moved to rest his hands on his knees. “Phoenix needs to concentrate if he's going to restore my sight.”

* * *

 

 

He had no idea how long he sat there in the darkness on his knees. At some point his legs had fallen asleep, he knew that much, but other than that, the blond had no way to tell the time or anything. His stomach growled once in a while, but even that wasn't a help since he really hadn't eaten at all that day to begin with. Sanji even found he was humming to himself, the many drifted songs of his childhood, to distract his mind from listening to the rushing sound of his heart.

Without any warning, a door swung open and Sanji sucked in a breath as he twisted his head to the right, eyes narrowed to slits as he tried in vain to adjust to the brightness of the light. It was artificial, that much the chef could tell, as it had that slightly blue tint to it that seemed to burn the eyes no matter where you looked.

A shadow fell over him as he raised his hands to try to block out the piercing source, leaning back slightly as he did so. The blond couldn't make out any details to whoever it was that dared set foot in here with him, but he could tell they were tall and thin, a halo of tinted light surrounding them. The man, Sanji assumed, had a feeble gait that almost seemed to make him shuffle across the floor, the few steps they took deeper into the room scraping across the cold hard surface loudly.

Not daring to look away, not wanting to miss any movement, Sanji fought with himself as he also wanted to see what he could of this room while the light was still here. If he could get even a tiny idea of how large or small his prison was, than maybe he could figure a way out.

Behind this first man stepped Hydra, the chef able to recognize his human form without actually having to make out details and he growled low, dropping his hands back to his knees. His nails scraped across his pants as he closed his hands into fists on his thighs. The beast laughed at him, his hideous aura flooding into the room, and the sound echoed about as well, giving Sanji the idea that it really wasn't as large as he may have thought it was. “Lookie here, he's awake.” Hydra crowed loudly, slapping a hand against his stomach and laughing again. “Welcome to my den.” His voice dropped off into a growl as he spoke.

“It's not very welcoming,” The chef sneered, unable to help the smirk that he knew twisted at the corner of his mouth. This most likely wasn't his smartest move, but fuck if he was going to give this fucker any more than he already had! It wasn't like he meant or even really  _ knew _ he was going out smelling of Zoro; it just happened that way. They probably all smelled of that shitty water lizard.

“He has a mouth on him. I see why you grabbed him.” The tone of the lanky guy as he spoke reminded Sanji of a snake, yet there was also a hint that made it sound weak and frail. There was a slight shake to his hand as he raised it to point at the chef. “Let's see what else he knows, shall we?”

As he stepped towards Sanji, the blond eyed him up as best he could, thankful that he had stepped into the path of the light and he was able to see a tad better. He really couldn't make out details still, but no matter, he didn't need to see the expression on someone else's face for them to read his. And he was pissed. Dropping his head forwards a bit, he glared up at him through dirty bangs and bared his teeth in a feral snarl that could have rivaled Zoro's. “I'm not telling you shit.”

“Feisty, aren't you?” A hand snapped out and grabbed as Sanji's jaw, forcing his head back to look up at him. Long nails bit into his cheeks, but he was still unable to really make out facial features. This man's skin was pale, even compared to his own complexion, his fingers cold and clammy. “Why don't you be a good boy and tell us where Roronoa is?”

“Bite me.” Ripping his head away, Sanji leaned back on his heels, thankful he had managed to regain some of his energy. Truly he still felt too drained to do much more than spit insults and he knew now he didn't have the range needed to make an effective kick, so what did that leave him?

“You're not asking the right questions,” Hydra hissed, swooping further into the room in a roll of black fog as he shifted into his true form. The light blotted out as a darkness rose up, a fog curling around blond's knees. The beast was bigger than Zoro, but not as much to really make that big of a difference. The black scales seemed to shine in the light, the different hues of obsidian and onyx making them glisten like oil on water. If it were any other time, Sanji was sure he would marvel at the grace and elegance that this brother possessed as well. The three heads wove around the chef like snakes, each one speaking in turn to complete his sentences. Their crimson irises burned bright, causing rings of color to reflect off the scales around the eyes. “We know where he is. It's why I went there. The true question is...will he come for you?”

Sanji swallowed hard, he couldn't help it. That question rang true in his own mind...would the others care enough to come get him? And even if they did, would Zoro care? The thought that he wouldn't pained him greatly and it must have shown on his face as one head, followed by the others began to cackle, sounding like a pack of yipping hyenas. “You should learn to guard your emotions better.” The dragon purred, clearly enjoying the turmoil Sanji was struggling through.

“Struck a nerve, have we?” The pale bastard spoke again, tipping Sanji's head back with two fingers to the chin. His touch was like ice now and he wondered if maybe that's what he was...some sort of ice or frost elemental much like Sabo was fire. He wished he could see his eyes, that would give him a clue as to if this guy was human or not.

“Zoro  _ will _ come.” Sanji wasn't sure if he needed to say it for them or if he needed that verbal reminder for himself. Leaning forwards against those cold fingers, the chef glared up at that blank face. “And when he does, he will kick your ass!”

“Doubtful.” A head swam from behind Sanji and he jerked away from it as best he could, the one eye facing him large and pupil-less. “I look forwards to his arrival though. I thought I had finished him the first time.” Hydra's voice came from everywhere at once and it made the blond dizzy just trying to keep up with it. “I will make sure of it this time. I will spill his blood and watch as the last breath leaves his throat!”

The vibration in the air as all three heads growled almost knocked Sanji over and he spread his knees wide for balance. A quiet chuckle rose up his throat, voicing itself loud and clear as he threw his head back and laughed. Twisting to sit up a little once more, Sanji locked eyes with the first head he came to, snarling as he leaned forwards. “Go to hell! There is no way he will lose to you.”

All three heads came together, the six eyes piercing the darkness and Sanji heard the scrape of his tail as it curled around raven colored claws. “No, boy, you don't seem to understand.” His voice was calm and collected, each word almost purred out. “I bring hell with me!” Baring their fangs, all three heads spoke as one before they disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Hyrda walked to the door in his human form, beckoning the other man to follow.

Sanji watched with cold eyes, his glare daring them to stay and chat longer. The second that door closed though and that light blacked out once more, the blond collapsed back onto the floor in a heap and wondered if there had been any truth to his own words at all.

 


	29. Book Three: Onyx

A hush fell over everyone in the yard as they simply stared at the two dragons. Usopp shifted from one hoof to the other, his nerves getting the better of him in the tense stillness of everything. Zoro remained quiet, eyes closed as he let Phoenix lay his hands on him. No one dared speak, the faun assumed, and even Robin's tendrils remained in their defensive formation around her and Franky.

Master Mihawk stood stiff, back straight and rigid. Next to him Sabo had an arm wrapped around Luffy's waist to keep him still, the other clamped over his mouth. The golem had fallen silent as well though, eyes large and wide under his straw hat. Koala peeked out over the lip of the elemental's hat brim, her wings flat against her back.

The Blue was intimidating, more so than Zoro, that was sure, even if he wasn't trying to be. “What's he—” Law started, but stopped when Perona snapped a hand out, smacking it against his stomach. There was an ' _ oof' _ from the doctor, then everything fell silent once more.

Zoro didn't seem to be in any pain and for that Usopp was thankful. His friend had been through enough pain concerning his wounds, it would have been wrong if healing them caused him more. “I can't heal the scars,” Phoenix spoke lowly, but the gardener was able to hear it, picking out the sorrowful tone in the older dragon's voice. His ears swiveled forwards and perked up a bit in an attempt to hear the two better.

“I know,” Zoro replied, his voice still calm and steady. He inhaled deeply through his nose, exhaling the same way. His brows furrowed in thought as his whole face scrunched slightly before Phoenix placed his thumb between his eyebrows. “I only need the one anyways.”

“Very well,” With a nod, Phoenix spoke again. This time his voice was barely above a whisper, the words he was speaking making even Robin raise her brow in confusion. It was clearly something ancient, lost to even the odinson. It made Usopp wonder just exactly what 'people' the dragons spoke about when they referred to them.

There was a slight glow between the two dragons, coming from the contact points of Zoro's forehead and then at his chest. It looked to be coming from Phoenix rather than his brother which caught everyone's attention. “Remarkable,” Law breathed out quietly. “He's not using Zoro-ya's energy at all, rather his own.”

“Interesting,” Robin commented and of course Law would be able to pick up on energy healing that quickly. The gardener flicked his eyes to his friends as they all stood and watched. They were all used to Law's abilities, the bright white glow of his tattoos and the sudden drain it could have when he had to rely on your own energy to supplement what he didn't have.

“There's no flux what so ever!” Usopp didn't even think Law was aware he stepped forwards, so preoccupied by the way the older Blue was healing the younger Green. It was weird to see the usually so reserved doctor geeking out in his own little way, his passion for his craft, even if it was creepy, overriding even the words of such an ancient beings as Zoro and Phoenix themselves.

The light faded as the dark haired man was almost upon them, one hand out stretched towards them. “Let me see,” Law breathed out in awe, dropping to his knees next to the older dragon. Phoenix raised an eyebrow at him, but tilted his head in a small nod and leaned back, shifting on his knees to let Law get closer.

“Zoro-ya,” he spoke calmly and Law raised his hands, not sure if he should actually touch the dragon or not, but clearly wanting too. The dragon was still breathing calmly, slow deep breaths as the doctor finally placed both his hands on the other man's cheeks.

“Zoro!” Perona lurched forwards, her jerked movements awkward as she crossed the yard to his side. She wasn't crying but her voice was choked up as she dropped to Law's side as well.

“'M fine,” the dragon spoke, but still didn't open his eyes. Both Law and Perona gave a relived chuckle and there was a collective sigh from everyone else. Shaking his head to knock the doctor's hands loose, the drake blew air from his mouth towards his nose in a huff. “I just need a minute.”

Phoenix stood, holding out a hand as the ravens returned to light on his fingers. The two animals pecked and squabbled at one another before settling down as the older dragon lowered his arm to a more comfortable level. “It's not instantaneous. I can only do so much and he has to work through the rest of it.”

“Is it because of the type of healing?” The dark haired doctor snapped his attention up to the older drake, who glanced down at him as the fingers of his free hand scratched at Brook's skull.

“I am the only one with healing abilities. I have done what I can, he just needs to work through the shift in his energy that occurred while we were connected. My little brother needs to refocus his own abilities and send the residual energy left from my healing him to the proper locations within his own body.”

“You can do all that?!” Law's jaw dropped open as he listened to the calm words of the older dragon. Phoenix raised an eyebrow at him, before returning to the birds.

“Open your eye Zoro.” Perona leaned into his space again, reaching up to press her fingertips against his cheek under his unscarred eye.

“Back off guys.” Zoro bared his teeth now, sharp points to his canines in a feral snarl and Perona fell back on her ass silently, but refused to move further from him. Crossing her legs, she slumped her shoulders slightly and growled right back at the dragon. He raised an eyebrow, but still didn't open his eye. Law got the hint and stood, but he didn't move far, casting his wide eyes from one dragon to the other.

Phoenix for his part was watching his brother fondly, but with an intensiveness that made Usopp realize just exactly what they had here. Yes, they were civil, but when it came right down to it, these guys were more fearsome and ferocious than anything the young faun knew of.  _ Dragons.  _ Protector and Guardian, but just as wild and unpredictable as any other feral creature you would find in the woods.

Robin's tendrils whipped out once more, snaking through the grass, but not quite touching anyone or anything. One seemed to hover near every person, waiting for that exact moment of permission from the odinson. Brook cawed once loudly and took to the air once more, perching himself proudly on his master's shoulder and Robin raised a hand to which the white bird seemed to cuddle into lovingly.

“Roronoa,” Phoenix spoke quietly now, Nami still perched on his hand as he scratched at the base of her skull now instead. Silence overtook the grounds again, no one daring to speak this time around.

Impatient as always, Perona moved to poke at the Southern Green, two fingers outstretched as she moved cautiously towards his chest. A hand snapped up and the pink haired girl yipped in shock as Zoro's fingers curled around her own. “Don't.” He spoke with the finality they had all come to know and love about the dragon and finally he opened his eye. There was a gasp from Perona before she bodily threw herself at him in a hug, tears finally spilling from her eyes. “I know,” the drake commented quietly, rubbing at her back as he looked up to everyone else. He blinked a couple times as he seemed to be adjusting to actually using his eye sight again.

Usopp shifted to one hoof, trying to look around the pink hair and caught a glimpse of the golden shine in the evening darkness. A small hum left Master Mihawk, of all people and Usopp glanced at him, noting the small smile playing at his mouth as he watched.

Perona pushed herself back, her hands bracing against the dragon's shoulders as she stood up on her knees. “They have always been my favorite part about you.”

Giving a half smile, Zoro finally stood, looking over everyone that stood in the yard. Usopp chuckled in awe, having forgotten just how brilliant his eye had shone before the white had taken over. The purest of gold, his pupiless iris shone like liquid honey in the sun. Reaching down, he pulled Perona to her feet and growled low in his throat, gaining a small smirk from the older dragon. “Let's go find our brother. Where are your ghouls?”

“One's close.” Perona pulled her ear buds out and stepped off to the side in what Usopp knew was going to be her calling back those things she kept around. “Should only take a second.”

“No way!” Luffy, who had finally managed to get free jumped at Zoro, tackling him and almost knocking him over. “Zoro your eye is so shiny!”

“Luffy! Get off!” Pushing him back, he sighed and shook his head, narrowing his eye slightly as he did so. “You look like Portgas.” Patting his shoulder, he moved past him towards Perona as one of her undead rose from the ground. It stood on shaky feet, making jerky movements as it raised one skeletal hand and wailed. The sound made Usopp snap his hands over his ears, but the pink haired girl didn't even flinch as she nodded and sent the thing away.

 

* * *

 

At some point Sanji remembered his lighter and it had taken a bit of effort to get his hand into his pants pocket to retrieve it. The small click of the item along with the small light filled the darkness and as the runes in his arm began to hum and burn, their energy coursing wildly through his veins, Sanji chuckled lowly to himself.

He knew he was still weak though, already the pulling drain of his chakras pooling deep in his gut. But it was something and he let his thumb slide off the button of the lighter, the entire room falling into darkness once more.

Somewhere deep down he hoped the others were going to realize he was missing and come get him. Sanji truly was depending on the fact that everyone had gotten used to his cooking and being around that they wouldn't just so easily let him slip away. It was probably a long shot, but it was all he had.

Taking a deep breath, inhaling deeply through his nose and closing his eyes, the chef exhaled calmly, trying to center his energy and focus on what he needed to do currently. And that was getting out of whatever the hell these bindings were made of. They were still slightly sticky, reminding him of spider webbing, which caused an unwanted shudder to wreck through his body, but spider silk could and would burn.

He wasn't completely immune to heat, having learned that the hard way when the blond had burned himself on a hot pan last week, but to fire itself...? Cackling lowly to himself, Sanji sucked in another breath and flicked his thumb over the lighter once more. If nothing else, the next time that bastard opened the door, he would be on his feet.

The little flame flared to life and Sanji cocked his head to stare at it. He could see the little flame dancing, waxing and waning as the natural energy of the fire aligned with his heartbeat. The chef still didn't fully understand how the powers Sabo bestowed upon him worked, but he knew they were a part of him now.

Twisting his hand Sanji was able entice the flame, call upon its very existence and command it to dance along his skin. It never actually left the lighter, but he watched, still in mute awe as it did as he asked, writhing over his skin until it touched the binding on his wrists. The moment it made contact, it flared into life, the flames throwing shadows about the small room and burning away the restraints.

With a sigh, the blond rolled his his back and dropped his arms to his sides, hearing the lighter clink and snuff out the flame. The room fell into darkness once more, his whole body feeling completely drained, but he wasn't done yet! He needed to keep struggling, needed to keep working and drawing up energy from the depths of his chakras. Sanji wasn't going to walk away this time, not when he now knew what Hydra's plan was. That blind bastard and him may not have always gotten along, but he didn't want to see him dead either.

That mutated freak must not have known about the power behind his abilities. His pact that he had unwillingly made with the fire elemental and the strength that lay within his own body. Sanji had been training with a dragon himself and was no stranger to the stamina they possessed and the stamina he had needed to gain to even try to compete with Zoro.

Dragging his hand across the ground, gripping his lighter, Sanji groaned as he struggled to sit up, the heavy weight of his own body becoming harder and harder to bare. This time he simply flicked the lighter against the bonds on his ankles, watching as once more the flames jumped to life and tore through the bindings like they weren't even there.

Getting to his knees, then his feet the chef stumbled a couple steps before he gained his balance, slowly rising to his full height and taking a deep breath. Stuffing his hand back in his pocket, he got his smokes, pulling one from the crumpled pack and scoffing at the bent stick. Oh well, it was better than nothing. Placing it lightly against his lip, Sanji cupped his hands and lit up, inhaling deeply and feeling that first drag fill his lungs. Already the blond felt better, calmer, even if he was still weary.

This was some fine mess he had gotten himself into. He should have known better than to even attempt to insult a dragon. Of course Sanji hadn't known the man was a dragon at the time, but with how much training Robin, Zoro and the others had been putting the blond chef through, he should have been able to pick up on the fact that the man he was speaking to was more than human.

Hydra had fooled him once. It wouldn't happen again.

Tapping his toes on the flooring, willing his body to stay calm and relax, Sanji flicked his lighter once more, calling upon the flame to brighten the small room so he could get a really good look at this prison.

It was simply a box, not a lot bigger than Sanji thought it had been. Narrowing his eyes at the door, he stepped towards it, running the fingers of his free hand down the crack between wall and door, chewing at the end of his cigarette. The door swung outwards, so he was pretty sure with a few well placed kicks he could have the damned thing off it's hinges. But then what?

Where would he go once he was freed of this little black box? Which direction was the way out? Was there a way out? Taking another drag off his smoke, Sanji groaned loudly, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck and sighing. Why did there have to be so many questions?

 


	30. Book Three: Onyx

Sabo picked his head up, turning in his chair and looking off over the far wall of the manor. “Sanji's alive.” He said it so matter-of-factly, so knowingly that it caused everyone to pause in what they were doing and look at the fire elemental.

“What?!” Zoro's gruff voice cut through the tense silence that had fallen upon the group. After Perona's ghoul had told her what it had discovered, the group at the manor had sat to quickly put together a plan. The Green drake had spent the entire time pacing, well most of it. First he had run off back into the manor, getting dressed and retrieving his swords.

The Southern Green was something majestic to behold on a normal basis, his strong shoulders and overwhelming aura leaving those not used to him simply awestruck. Usopp had indeed grown used to Zoro, but he still felt that shiver of respect run through him again when the dragon stepped out of the house, dressed in his green coat. The drake still wore it at times, not so much as of late, but there was something about seeing him wearing it with that look of determination on his features that made Usopp want to keep his distance.

The gold of his one open eye swirled erratically, the depths and sea of changing color portraying his aggressive and sour mood. His weapons, those three katana that had rested in their rack for so long, were back at his hip, tied there with his favorite long red sash.

He was imposing, threatening and seemingly untouchable as he moved to stand next to his brother for a moment, crossing his arms and letting his now golden eyed gaze float over the group of people in the backyard. Then Zoro grew impatient, as he normally did, growling feral and low in his throat and stalking back and forth like a caged animal, the grip he held on his red sword tight; his earrings clinking with each step he took.

“I can feel him,” Rising to his feet, the elemental turned towards the drake. “As I said earlier. I can't tell you where exactly he is, but I know he's conscious. Weak, but still...awake.” Nodding more to himself than anyone, Sabo's mouth was set in a hard line, his gaze still looking off over the back of the wall.

Phoenix's arm snapped out, gripping at his brother's shoulder as he came close. Zoro looked down at the hand on his upper arm before narrowing his eye and looking up to his brother. “Running off on your own won't do anyone any good Roronoa.” The older drake's voice was calm, his words sounding almost lazy as he spoke.

“We idle here why who the hell knows what's going on there! Hydra has the cook! He's part of my brood; my clutch!” Zoro snapped his free arm to his chest, thumping his fist against his pecs and squaring his shoulders at the other dragon. “I will not let the fate of Usopp's town fall on him either.”

“In due time Little Brother.” The tone of Phoenix’s voice was completely dismissive as he flicked his gaze over to where Masker Mihawk and the others were around the table.

“No!” Zoro pulled away, jerking from the Blue's hold. “You have never mingled with the people like I have. Like Portgas did. I am not going to sit here when I can do something! Perona! Mihawk!” Spinning on his heel, the dragon stomped over to the little garden table, slamming his hands down on it. “What have you got planned so far? I'm growing impatient.”

“Obviously,” The pink haired girl started to laugh, but cut it short when Zoro glared at her, instead dropping her eyes to the mess of papers on the table and picking one up. “We think he's in the cave system on the other side of the lake. It would be close enough for him, yet far enough that you wouldn't be able to sense him unless you were aware of his presence.”

“So he's been here for a while? That sneaky bastard.” Shaking his head, the Green picked up a piece of paper, reading over it and flipping it in his hand. “What's this list of?”

“It's a list of the groups I have broken everyone into Zoro.” Master Mihawk laced his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table. “Your brother is right you know. You must be patient. We will retrieve Mister Black before any harm comes to him.”

“I don't have time to be patient Mihawk!” The Green growled out the words and Usopp could see the slight glow to his eye, warming his tanned skin in its golden hues. The older man glanced up at him, his mouth tight in a frown. He looked to be about to speak when Zoro continued, hunching his shoulders defensively and growling once more. The sound seemed to move through the table, vibrating up the faun's arms and he pulled his hands off the table to stare wide eyed at the dragon. “I listened to you last time. I waited for you to form a plan. And people died. Lots of people I could have protected. I am not going to sit here and let that happen again. Yes, it's just the cook, I can see it on your face. What's one man? Don't get me started!” Pointing at the dark haired man, Zoro spun once more, easily locating Law, who was sitting under the tree across the yard.

The doctor sat up straight when the dragon barked out his name, almost scrambling to his feet as the drake stalked across the small space with purpose. “What is it Zoro-ya?”

“You're coming with me.” Turning, he spun back towards the table, jerking a hand out as he spoke. “Sabo. You are going with Phoenix. The four of us are leaving now. I can smell him,” Zoro placed a hand on his chest as he spoke about himself. “And Law can heal the cook when we find him. Sabo is connected to him and my brother can heal him as well. That's the plan, we go; now.”

Stepping back for Law, ignoring the chorus of gasps that filled the air, the Southern Green transformed, flicking his tail dangerously, causing the doctor to jump over it and move closer to his body. He frowned from under his hat, laying a hand carefully against the dragon's back leg and waiting.

Phoenix made a sound, something that hurt Usopp's ears, the high pitched screech-line noise causing the faun to snap his hands over his ears and close his eyes. When he opened them again, the Blue was standing in his true form as well, the smoke and fog rolling about his slightly raised wings with ease. He flapped them lightly, cocking his head to the side slightly as he looked over to his little brother. “That sounds rather appealing to me actually. Come Elemental.”

“Wait!” Usopp stood up, slamming his hands on the table and knocking his chair over. “I—I'm coming too! I should have checked up on Sanji and I didn't. This entire thing could have been avoided if it wasn't for me.” His whole body was shaking, going looking for trouble not being something he was one to normally do. But Sanji was his friend and he had let him down tonight and if there was something he could do to fix it, then the young faun was going to try!

“Don't blame yourself Usopp.” Zoro's voice was calm and low. “None of us could know he would do this. Very well, let's go.” The dragon kneaded the ground with his front feet and Usopp knew rebuilding the lawn was going to be hell, but he had more important things to worry about now.

Grabbing his bag, the gardener bounded over to Law, taking his hand as he pulled himself up on the green drake. With Zoro's tail still moving, it had been safer for the doctor to climb up on him, both men settling themselves easily behind his horns at his neck.

“Me too!” Luffy bounded over to Sabo, grappling onto the fire elemental as he was adjusting himself from his place on Phoenix's shoulders. “I wanna find Sanji! His food's the best!”

“Zoro! Phoenix! This is mad!” Master Mihawk stood up, slamming his hands on the table and the faun wondered why he hadn't spoken before now. “The six of you against Hydra!? You don't even know what you are up against! There could be an army waiting for you! This is most certainly a trap you are blindly running into!”

“I don't quite fully understand who you are Human,” It was Phoenix's deep voice that cut through the tense air, a low vibrating growl to his words. How a bird-like dragon could even growl, Usopp wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to ask either. Ducking his head against Law's shoulders, hearing the doctor hiss in pain as his horn buds dug into his back, the gardener gripped Zoro's mane tightly and listened to what was being said. “But my little brother seems to be fond of you, despite his current mood. We are capable of handling our brother.” Ruffling his body, the smoke drifting about him like a fluffy cloud, the Blue blinked his large black eyes. “And whatever surprises he may have in store for us.”

“I wanna go too!” Perona shot from her chair, running to the green dragon and smacking him off the end of his nose. The beast snorted, jerking his head back before lowering it down to rest on his front claws. There were tears in her eyes as she stared at Zoro. “You can't leave me here!”

“Perona,” The tone he spoke with was softer with her than it ever was, but still held that commanding tone. His words were final and everyone in the backyard knew it. “Stay here. I don't want to see you get hurt.”

“I can't just sit by this time either Zoro!” Wrapping her arms around his nose, she dropped her cheek onto his snout. “I know I'm wasting your time right now, I do, but you can't! Zoro, please! It's my family's job to protect you!” There was a sniffle, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. “I failed last time too.”

Zoro didn't respond except to inhale deeply and close his eye. That night, that horrible night, Master Mihawk and Perona should have been with Zoro when Hydra attacked him. Not because the drake couldn't have taken care of himself, because he could have; Zoro was a formidable fighter to say the least, but because her family had been charged with watching over the younger dragon. Same as Zoro had the duty, along with the others, to watch over the peoples of the world.

It was Franky, of them all, to pull her off the dragon's snout, holding her, kicking and screaming in his arms. “Go, dudes; I got this.” And he turned, walking back towards the kitchen doors, calling to Robin as he went.

Zoro growled once more, lifting his nose into the air, his whiskers whipping out in all directions. The vibration of his words and actions seemed to ripple through Usopp, making him suddenly regret so easily climbing up onto his back. And on top of it all...dragons flew! Groaning loudly, not even thinking as he wrapped his arms around Law's waist, he kept his eyes tightly closed, feeling his stomach and what was most likely the ground dropping out from under him.

He was never one for fair rides, keeping away from the carnival when it came to the market in the early summers, so the sudden drop of his stomach made him sick. Usopp groaned loudly, Law's sharp elbow to his ribs not helping. “You throw up on me Usopp-ya and I will push you off him.” Whimpering, but not replying, the young gardener just hung on for dear life, hoping that Zoro was at least remembering that he was carrying passengers on his flight over the water of the large lake.

 

* * *

 

If it had been any other time, Usopp was sure he would have relaxed a bit more and and enjoyed the glow of the rising sun over the water. As it were, he was tired, having been up for about twenty-four hours at this point and had a long day ahead of him. He was hoping that finding Sanji would be an easy task and that they could go, regroup and hopefully get some sleep, before coming back to tackle the huge issue that was Hydra. Knowing Zoro though...that wasn't going to happen.

“Brother,” Phoenix's wing tips brushed across both Law and Usopp as the large hawk-dragon leveled out next to them. Luffy was screaming and carrying on, his joy filled cries getting whipped away by the wind, while Sabo just seemed to be hunkered down, looking miserable. “What is your true plan?”

The dragon grunted, his entire body rolling like the waves that were far below them. “When we land,” The dragon's shoulders shifted as if he were clawing at the air and Usopp dared to lean over slightly to see if he was indeed doing just that. “Sabo and the others will go to find the cook.” Twisting his head to look over at the larger dragon, Zoro kept his voice steady. There was some sort of calm that had fallen over him, Usopp noticed, even if he couldn't tell exactly what it was about. “You and I will go find our brother.”

“Why didn't you just tell Mihawk that?!” Sabo yelled to them, one hand holding tightly to his hat. His black eyes shone in the morning rays of the sun, making them look as if they were on fire themselves.

“Despite the way it may seem, I don't answer to him.” Zoro snorted, as if that single sentence explained everything. “Mihawk would try to stop us if I had told him that. Did try to stop us even when I presented a plan I knew he would be willing to agree with. Our brother is a monster; cunning and sneaky. He used the cook already to lure us out, well me, and I wouldn't put it past him to kill him if he felt like it.”

“The darkness has fully taken over hasn't it?” The older dragon's words were low, seemingly spoken more to himself than to the others as they soared over the glowing waters of the bright dawn.

“I don't know where you went...” The Green's tone was harsh, a slight hiss to each word he spat out at his older brother. He may have looked up to him, but Usopp could hear the malice in his words. “But you left us to deal with him. You took off at the first signs of his struggle. Portgas and I had no idea what to do for him. The peoples eventually banded together to form small groups that came to stand with us. Sabo's tribe allied with Portgas after he found them and forged a new volcano for them to thrive in.”

“It's been our home for centuries,” The fire elemental added in helpfully. “Ace was amazing! I grew up learning from him, he taught all of us so much. And truly his death is a great loss to the world.” He grew silent after that, pulling his hat forwards over his eyes and even Luffy stopped with his screams, wrapping himself around the other man and burying his head against the blond's shoulder.

“I was...involved with a Human at the time,” There was a hesitation to Zoro's words as he continued, as if he didn't want to let his older brother know just how far his mingling with the peoples went. “She was some relation to Perona and Mihawk's; I can't remember now. Her small village of warriors rose up with me, fighting back the early attacks of Hydra's.”

“At first we were easily overpowering him and he knew it. Shortly after Robin arrived as well, he simply disappeared. Even Nami and Brook, with their vast connections could not locate him or you.” There was a snap of the drake's jaw, some long forgotten memory coming to the surface, Usopp knew. This was long before his time, long before any of their times, even Sabo, and elementals lived for a long time.

Sometimes the young faun forgot just how old and knowledgeable Zoro actually was. The Human form he took couldn't have looked more than twenty-five, perhaps younger, but the mind and soul of the dragon where almost as old as time itself. All four of them were and the things that they had probably forgotten over time would fill books beyond what Usopp wanted to imagine.

“He just appeared several years ago. It was shortly before you spoke to me that first time as well. A twisted thing, all his golden hues gone to be replaced with a blackness darker than any ink, deeper than the depths of the oceans and his soul had been so corrupted I hardly knew it was him. I could only really tell by the smell, his scent is still the same.”

“He came from no where, this darkness surrounds him now like a thick fog, and he easily overpowered me, as much as I hate to admit it.” The dragon huffed, beginning a downwards angle to the ground as it came into view. Usopp knew this place. Long ago it had been mine where a small group of earthen elementals had created a labyrinth of tunnels and caves, mining the precious stones and ore that had been discovered deep down.

Few ventured here now and that would explain why it would be the perfect place for Hydra to hide. There would almost be no way for anyone to know it was here, the magics over it still shrouding it from most Humans as well. “Zoro-ya,” Law's voice was quiet as he leaned forwards over one large horn. “How did you know this was here?”

“Hm?” Zoro turned his head slightly, circling easily before he came to rest lightly on the ground. “As I have been saying for the last couple years, I could see, just not like you can or I can now, thanks to Phoenix. I know the lands around my home and long ago I was here as well. It's one of the reasons we came here this time. I am familiar with these lands and I like this lake.”

As soon as they had climbed off the drake's back, Zoro shook, a full body shake that seemed to thunder against the ground, spraying water everywhere and at the end revealed the Human they had all come to know, arms over his head in a full body stretch. “This is an elaborate set of tunnels. All smoothed over from years of elementals working them. It's easy to get lost, I have before when I was exploring them.” Shrugging easily, Zoro ran a hand through his damp green hair, waving that hand towards the entrance that looked like a large gaping maw in the morning sun.

It was almost perfectly rounded over the top, clearly the work of something that had the ability to shape the earth as it saw fit, the sides smooth as they seemed to sink into the sand of the beach they now stood on. “Mark a path if you need to.”

“I can do that.” Sabo jumped off the large dragon's back, spinning his staff in his hand easily. Luffy landed next to him in a crouch, one hand holding his hat in place as he looked off to the cave mouth excitedly. “Luffy, you need to stay with me.” The golem whined, but didn't move, instead sitting cross-legged on the ground and crossing his arms. “We should be fine Zoro. Between all of us, we are a formidable group of fighters.”

“I don't have any doubt of that.” The dragon grinned, his eye bright and his features feral. Usopp could see his body tensing, his hands flexing at his sides as he prepared himself mentally for a fight. That night with Hydra, that dreadful night they almost lost him, had been his last fight and that had almost been three years ago. This was more than just a fight to Zoro though, the gardener was sure of it. This was about revenge, putting the end to an evil that had roamed the world for too long and finally there was something that the blinded drake could do about it.

“Shall we then Little Brother?” Phoenix, in his own Human form, started walking calmly towards the blackness of the cave. He didn't seem worried in the slightest and neither did Zoro as he moved to follow him, one hand grasped tightly around a sword hilt. The small group left standing on the beach watched in silence as the two dragons vanished into the blackness of the cave.

Then Sabo laughed, a fire igniting around his closed fist as Luffy jumped to his feet. “I can feel him here.” Kicking at the loose sand at his feet, he looked down at it. “He's deep, really deep. Luffy...” Eyes flicking over to the golem, who was flexing his arms, his swirls of color hardening to black shiny stone at the call of his name, Sabo inhaled. “We need to find Sanji, no distractions. This is serious.”

The golem jerked his head in a sharp nod. “Right.”

 


	31. Book Three: Onyx

Sanji woke with a start. His entire body was aching and he felt stiff all over. He groaned as he sat up from where he had slumped over in his tensed sleep. Stomach growling loudly as he got to his feet, the blond forced himself to stretch, his back popping in several places. Sanji wouldn't say he felt better, he was hungry as fuck and had to piss like a damned race horse, but he had managed to gain some of his energy during his miserable sleep, that much the chef could tell.

The blond wasn't entirely sure where he was either, chewing at his lip as he leaned against a wall and peered around the edge of the doorway to the room he was in. He wanted a smoke, but didn't want to give his location away anymore than he knew he already was. His natural scent was sure to be wafting around down here.

There was nothing in these strange halls, the walls almost shiny smooth, yet made completely of dirt. He had no idea what could have made these tunnels, hoping beyond hope that whatever it was wasn't here anymore. The fleeting thought of something like giant earthworms crossed his mind and as dumb as it sounded, he wouldn't put it past the world he had fallen into.

Cause, ya know, he argued with a fucking dragon on a daily basis after all...

The thought of Zoro, and the others, made his heart skip a beat and his breath stuck in his throat for a second. He needed to get out of here and when he did, Sanji knew he needed to go back there. Even if it was to apologize for his behavior. Not something he normally did, but this time around, Sanji knew he had fucked up.

The dragon had simply been reacting to something he couldn't see. He had to keep telling himself that over and over again. He couldn't blame Zoro for acting in a way that was natural to him. Sanji just wanted to explain that to the overgrown lizard. Snapping his hand closed, feeling the dried blood across his palm, he growled low to himself and swung around the door frame, striking off down another endless hall. There was a weird dim glow about him, casting everything in amber hued tones. It was completely different from the bright lights that Hydra had brought with him and was a welcome change from the blackness of his little cell.

When he had first gotten the door open, the chef had blinked, raising a hand, trying to get his eyes to adjust to even that small amount of light, grateful for having it even as it stung his eyes and he had to retreat back into the small room for a minute. Sanji had taken the time to light a cigarette in this place, standing in the center of the room and trying to keep calm as he puffed madly at the stick.

Having no idea how deep underground he assumed he was, Sanji simply choose a direction and ran, letting his feet lead him down hall after hall. They all looked the same, most of them more like long corridors with no end in sight, while others opened abruptly into large caverns that had no exit. It was one of, what he thought may have been a store room, where his body finally had enough.

Sanji leaned back against a wall, panting for breath to slide down it and all but pass out from exhaustion. He had no idea how long he had slept or how he had managed to not get caught again.

Slowing his running, the air growing cold and his breath coming out in steamed pants, Sanji tried to swallow, the bite of the cold air burning his throat. How the hell had he managed to get this far underground? And wasn't it supposed to get warmer when you got closer to the center of the earth? Taking a few steps backwards, deciding it was better to turn around and try a new path, Sanji spun coming face to face with the man from before.

Out in the hallway, he could see how pale he really was, skin almost tinted a light blue as frost seemed to creep along it as if it were frozen stiff. Pale blue eyes met his as the blond jumped back, giving himself a little distance between himself and what he could now truly see was in fact an ice elemental.

“The little birdie has flown the coop,” He laughed low in his throat, flicking one hand into the air. Sanji could see the swirl of snowflakes between his fingers and he narrowed his eyes as he tried to read what it was this elemental was going to do.

“I didn't like my taste of captivity,” he replied with a smirk, fingers twitching at his sides as now Sanji really wanted a cigarette. There was just something about slinging insults with a spiral of smoke drifting past his nose that he truly enjoyed.

“I'm not allowed to kill you...” The other man trailed off, as if that idea was one he hated greatly. “But that doesn't mean you have to be brought back with all your limbs attached. Ever experience frost bite? Freeze something and it becomes brittle. The colder the temperature, the easier it is to break. I have seen flesh shatter like glass and it is truly a wondrous sight.” Twisting his hand and flicking his fingers towards the chef, the little snowflakes drifting lightly towards the ground, he grinned wickedly. “Come; I'll show you.”

“I'd rather not.” Stepping back into a stance, Sanji snapped his hand into a fist, letting his runes flare to life. Fire and ice. This was a dangerous game he was playing and he could easily come out on top just as easily as he could drown in defeat. “But, I got a question for you.”

“Oh, pray tell...what is that retched boy?” The ice elemental curled his lip in distaste, clearly not liking the backtalk he was getting from the blond. Good, more ammo for Sanji then.

Sanji smirked, tipping his head ever so slightly to the side as he pulled his lighter from his pocket. Fuck it, he was going to have a smoke. Retrieving that as well, he was shocked that the elemental hadn't just attacked him. Maybe he was intrigued by the chef's little game of cat and mouse or maybe he was simply giving Sanji the false feeling of confidence before he utterly destroyed him.

Either way. The burn of smoke filled his lungs and the blond sighed happily, stuffing his lighter back in his pocket. Grinning around his cigarette, he let the heat roll through him, burning down to his core, flowing like liquid metal down his legs to pool at his feet, before bursting into the hot flames that licked at his calves. “Ever play with fire?”

He shot from his spot in an instant, hoping to catch the elemental off guard more than anything. He was fairly sure he wouldn't be able to beat him, not in his weakened state, but all he really needed to do was stun him so he could get away from him. Sanji came at him with a roundhouse kick, jumping as high as this tunnel would allow and snapping his body around to gain as much force as he could.

Honestly he wasn't surprised when he didn't connect, the force behind his attack spinning him as he hit the ground. One shoulder slammed into the wall and bounced him off before the chef was able to regain his footing. Shadows from his flames flickered against the walls as he stepped back into another stance, pausing only long enough to locate the man once more.

“As I said before,” The elemental almost seemed to glide across the flooring, leaving a trail of frost on the ground in his wake. “You are quite the cocky little fucker.”

Sanji took a drag off his smoke, tapping the ashes off the end. “Plenty more where that came from too.” Slamming the butt against his lip, Sanji moved once more, using the same tactics he had on Zoro to hopefully trip this guy up. He was quick to follow, each block from one of Sanji's kicks making his fires hiss and spit against the cold of the elemental. The blond could feel it seep into his skin and he pushed away from him, halting himself mid-air and deciding to take a page from Law as well.

He couldn't teleport like the doctor could, really thinking about how useful that could be right now, but he could use the force and momentum he gained from the fallback and sudden stop to propel forwards instead. The chef did just that, maybe only truly hanging still in the air for a second before he was lunging forwards once more, another roundhouse set to hopefully break bone.

Even Zoro had hissed in pain from the attack, shaking out his arm from the block before swiping his sheathed blade under his feet and knocking Sanji to the ground. That had been a dragon though, not a lesser like an elemental and this one was stupid enough to try and block it. The blond heard the crack of the bone in the other man's forearm, saw the contorted twist of pain cross his face before his heel connected with the ice elemental's cheek.

The slam against the wall was instantaneous, Sanji barely registering that he was jumping away before the other man was falling to the ground howling in pain. That was his cue to leave and he pulled one last drag off his smoke before flicking it to the ground, half skipping as he turned and ran back the way he had come. There was no way he was going to stay on this same path anymore, not when he had simply managed to piss that guy off even more.

The wall next to him exploded in white, the crackle of ice and the burst of cold air sweeping over him and chilling his skin. Sanji ignored the near miss, not even giving it the attention to see how close the attack had actually come to hitting him. Letting his own element die around his feet, the only sounds Sanji could hear was the thundering of his blood in his ears and the clack of his shoes on the packed ground.

He swung around a corner, glancing over his shoulder as he did so, seeing the elemental disappearing into the distance and mentally breathing a sigh of relief. His lungs were burning from the lack of air he was getting, but he kept going, wanting to put as much distance between himself and his enemy as possible before he knew he was going to have to stop.

Running almost blind, the deep hues of amber making the tunnels look like honey, Sanji tried to focus on his need to keep going. One more step, one more foot in front of the other. Just another wheezing breath that was hardly enough air for him to breathe. Maybe he should quit smoking. Clicking his tongue and rolling his eyes at himself, thinking of the stupidest things at a time like this, Sanji glanced over his shoulder once more as he rounded another corner only to slam bodily into something else.

There was a startled 'oof' as he and whoever it was crashed to the ground in a heap. Eyes closed, the chef inhaled, breath still coming in short pants as he finally gave into the the burn of his lungs. It only took a second though for him to realize that there were arms wrapped about his shoulders and the skin under his cheek felt warmer than it should. “Cook?!”

Snapping his head up, Sanji cracked it off Zoro's jaw, the dragon's teeth clacking together loudly as he swore under his breath and rubbed at the spot. The blond's own hand rubbed at the burst of pain on the top of his head, relief flooding through him at the sight of the green dragon under him. Then his whole body flushed in arousal and embarrassment at the thought and he stammered for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts, hands scrabbling at the drake's sides as he tried to lift himself up.

Zoro's other arm slid off his back and Sanji finally sat up, knees on either side of the newt's hips, arms baring his weight by the other man's shoulders. Inhaling deeply, finally getting his breathing under control, Sanji swallowed in an attempt to wet his throat. “Zoro! I...” The words died in his throat though as he stared down at the drake, eyes widening as the now golden eye stared back at him. The myriad of hues that swam in the circular depths were only highlighted by the amber glow of the hallways and Sanji felt his entire being melt in want for the drake once more. He had imagined what his eyes would look like; had dreamed of seeing them for himself and now that he could stare into the one eye, his wildest imagination could never have done it justice.

“Got a problem Cook?” The green drake smirked before shoving him back and Sanji landed roughly on his ass, too shocked to even have a comeback at being pushed.

“You...how...I mean...” He stammered, watching as the dragon easily got to his feet, dusting off his robe before reaching down and haling Sanji to his feet by his shirt collar.

“You smell.” Wrinkling his nose, the scars across his lips and nose moving at the action, the drake pushed him back a pace by fingers to his shoulder. “And you look like shit. The hell happened to you?”

That snapped him out of his daze. “Oh, I don't know!” He roared, kicking out at the dragon's foot angrily, not surprised when the other man seemed to almost lazily avoid the hit. “Getting kidnapped by your fuck show of a brother! How the hell did you even get here?! Ya dumb blind salamander! The fuck is wrong with you coming here alone anyways!”

Zoro clicked his tongue and rolled his eye, turning to the other person with him that Sanji hadn't even realized was there. He was taller than them both with blond hair and a bored expression. He glanced at the dragon and raised an eyebrow before huffing a sigh. “We didn't come here to find your cook Roronoa.”

“Ro—” Sanji started, sucking in a breath as the man turned towards him, uncrossing his arms and raising them towards the chef. “Who the fuck are you?! Don't touch me!”

“Relax Cook,” The green bastard scoffed at him. “My brother is simply going to heal you.”

“B—broth—oh.” All the strength left his body and Sanji sank to the floor once more. Suddenly he was extremely tired and overwhelmed at the situation. He felt drained and wanted nothing more than to go back to the manor and curl up in his bed to sleep for a week. Honestly he felt like he could cry, not that he was going to, but some sort of relief flooded through him at Zoro's words and it made Sanji feel so much better.

Both dragons were frowning down at him and Zoro crossed his arms with a huff. “Stop being so dramatic. We are wasting time.”

“Agreed.” Crouching down to him, Zoro's brother, who Sanji could only assume was Phoenix, simply by process of elimination, raised his hands once more, pressing one thumb against the chef's forehead, while his other came to rest just under his collarbones. “Your injuries aren't too grave. Mostly exhaustion and some blood loss from that cut.” Inhaling deeply through his nose, Sanji couldn't help but stare into the black eyes of the dragon. He could assess what was wrong with him as well as heal him?

“It's from Zoro...” he found himself breathing out. “When he freaked out, I cut my palm on his scales.” Sanji honestly couldn't explain why he needed to say it, but he did and he heard the green drake behind him make a sound that kind of sounded like it had been an accident. It most likely had been. In his blind panic, Sanji had also acted out of sorts and between the two he had gotten hurt.

“Either way; don't move. This will only take a second.” Sanji watched as the dragon closed his eyes and he felt a warmth flood through him that wasn't his own. It radiated from the two points on his body that the blue dragon was touching him, fatigue and pain just melting away like ice in the hot sun. The chef could also feel his strength returning to him, the weariness of his muscles vanish and his own energy return, pooling in his gut and rolling throughout his entire body. A small sting rose up on his palm and Sanji grit his teeth in an effort to not move.

As quickly as the sensations of the dragon's energy came, it was gone and he leaned back, rising silently to his feet and stepping around Sanji down the corridor he had just run from. “Let us go Roronoa.”

“Yeah, on your feet Cook.” Grabbing Sanji by the upper arm, the dragon's warmth seeping instantly into his skin, the Southern Green hauled him easily to his feet once more, grabbing him by both shoulders and giving him a stern look. It was weird for Sanji to actually meet his eye, still in awe at the perfect golden shine as it warmed tanned skin. “Stay close, understand?”

“I'm not three Zoro.” Pushing the dragon's arms off, Sanji snorted and moved to follow when the newt swung past him and both dragons took off at a run down the hall.

“I never said you were Cook.” The tone of the drake's voice was level and calm as he glanced over his shoulder to frown at the blond. “Just now that I really know you are blond, I have to make sure you understand directions when I explain them.”

“Fuck you!” Sanji screamed, shoving the other man who was laughing at him. The other dragon seemed to be ignoring them both entirely and it didn't take long for them to fall into a content silence as they headed back the way he had just come. “Wait.” Sliding to a stop, he took a deep breath, hands on his knees.

“What now Cook?”

“This is the way I just came. I kicked some ice elemental's ass, well kinda. He's not happy  _ that's _ for sure!” Chuckling lowly to himself, Sanji snapped an arm out farther down the direction they were headed. “I ran away from him and now you want to go towards him?”

“I'm following Hydra's scent.” Frowning, Zoro ran a hand through his hair.

Sanji scoffed, unable to help himself. “So you gain your sight back and still rely on your useless sense of smell?”

“You wait!” Pointing a finger at him, the drake growled low in his throat. “One of these days I'ma seriously bite you in half!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Rolling his eyes, the blond sighed. “Let's go then, if that's where you are headed, I just thought I would warn you of what I know.”

“This is why I tend to stay away from Humans,” Phoenix spoke quietly as they started off again and the chef had to bite his tongue. Pissing Zoro off was one thing, angering thing guy was sure to be something else.

 


	32. Book Three: Onyx

There was something ominous about Phoenix. Sure, Zoro could come off as intimidating at times, but there was always the small quirk to his mouth or a certain ripple to his body language that gave away the hint he wasn't going to carry through with his threats. Sanji wasn't so sure the older dragon wouldn't really bite him in half or something if he felt the need or want.

Every time he glanced over his shoulder to the chef, Sanji got the distinct impression he was in the way, a burden of sorts that hadn't been taken care of properly simply because of Zoro. Whenever a need to speak came up as they ran deeper into this tunnel maze of worms holes, the dragon referred to him as Zoro's, saying things like “your cook” and “your blond,” never bothering to even ask Sanji's name. Granted there was something that flushed through him at the new dragon naming him as the green bastard's, but Sanji soon found it annoyed him as well. He thought about mentioning he had a name, but it had gotten him nowhere with Zoro and he highly doubted this dragon cared what his name was either.

Why the fuck were dragons so annoying? Bunch of jerks, the whole lot of them. Or well, the three he had met at any rate... He needed to remember to ask Sabo how Ace, Ruby, Portgas, whatever his name was; acted. There had to be one of them that was...nice, right?

“How deep did these guys go?! Damn him!” Zoro growled as they rounded yet another corner, pausing to sniff at the air before pointing off to their left. “That way!”

“Earth elementals are masters after all.” Phoenix mused as they started down another long hall. His voice was calm and steady, a complete contrast to his deadly aura. “Hydra did some good in the beginning.”

“Yeah yeah...we all created some in our image.” Zoro huffed, rolling his eye. “His elementals were no more special than yours or mine.”

“Elementals?” Sanji asked, looking over to the green dragon as they kept moving. He was looking forwards, face profiled so the blond could see the curve of his nose and the sharpness of his jaw. He really was handsome, even if he wasn't pining over him all the time. Zoro had chosen a form that was just simply nice to look at.

That golden eye slid to look at him, the dragon turning his head slightly as his brow furrowed at Sanji's question. “Yes,” he replied gruffly. “You can tell by the tunnels.”

“So it wasn't giant earthworms?” The chef couldn't help his grin as the newt snorted in a laugh and shook his head. “That's relieving.”

“You're a moron Cook.” The green dragon smirked before his face dropped into a more serious expression and he slowed in his running till he came to a stop. He reached out, grabbing the blond by the arm to stop him as well, his grasp tight as he stared off towards the end of the long hallway. Sanji looked down at his hand, the dragon's grip flexing tightly. It wasn't painful, but it was still a heavy pressure on his muscles. And there was a tenseness there that he wasn't used to. Zoro was in some mind set that Sanji hadn't seen him in before and to be honest, it was a little frightening.

“What is it?” The chef breathed out. He knew now that despite how Zoro may have picked on him, he truly wasn't going to abandon him. Sanji had thought for a little that maybe everyone at the manor would just leave him to his fate, but seeing the green dragon here had filled him with a new hope and a place of belonging. They did care about him and what happened to him. “Zoro, I...” he started, feeling the need to apologize for his behavior all of a sudden. “Earlier I—I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and—”

“Hush, Cook; it's fine. I shouldn't have either.” Zoro's tone came out in a harsh whisper, the husky throaty tone making the blond sigh in defeat. “Phoenix,” Turning his attention to his brother, the salamander let go of Sanji's arm and pointed down the far hall. “Hydra's scent became overpowering a moment ago. I think we are close.”

“Hm, likely so.” The older dragon took a look around and Sanji followed, taking in their surroundings at the moment. The tunnel they were on was actually just about to end, coming to what appeared to be a four way crossroads of sorts. Directly across from them was another long tunnel and if Sanji squinted just right he thought he could see a bright light down at the end. Glancing down the left tunnel was simply more of the same packed and shiny earth, the warmth of the amber lights leading down beyond a point Sanji's vision could carry. “We need to devise a plan Roronoa.”

“Yeah I know,” Running a hand through his hair, the green sighed as he closed his eye in thought. His other hand went to his hip as he tapped his fingers against that red sash. Scrunching his mouth and nose in an almost confused look, the green drake shrugged. “I got nothing. I was just planning on going in and confronting him.”

“As forthcoming as always I see.” Frowning at his brother, the older dragon looked down the opposite corridor, raising an eyebrow. “Someone is coming.”

“Yeah,” Zoro waved a hand off towards the right tunnel like it wasn't a big deal. “I feel them. It's just Sabo and the others.”

“The others!?” Sanji slapped a hand over his own mouth at his sudden outburst, his voice echoing down the hall a little. Zoro growled at him, the pointed look to his face screaming that he needed to be quiet. Sanji knew this of course, nodding dumbly at the dragon. “You all came?” He asked is a choked whisper.

“No,” the dragon replied, striking off down the hall as the thundering of footsteps could be heard. Sanji jerked to follow, excited to see who else had come as well. Behind them both, the chef could hear the blond dragon sigh in annoyance. He forgot about him though as Sabo and Usopp came into view, followed closely by Law and Luffy. The six collided in some sort of awkward big group hug, all of them laughing and slapping one another on their backs.

Everyone seemed excited to see him and that made Sanji's spirits run high. He really had been a moron, like Zoro had said, to think they would just leave him here. He was a bigger moron for running off in the first place and getting everyone involved in this mess. Usopp tackled him in a hug with Luffy, neither of them wanting to let go and Sanji chuckled as he hugged them back tightly. Everything was going to be okay. They were going to kick some ass and go home...together.

“Let me see you!” Law grabbed him by the cheeks, twisting his head around so he met the doctor's cold gray eyes. His tattoos were all white and the dark circles under his eyes seemed darker than normal. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Sanji shook his head, pulling out of the doctor's grip and trying to push the golem from around his waist. “I was a little, but Zoro's brother healed me.” The dark haired doctor grunted with a nod, ruffling his hair and giving Sanji a small smile.

“As great as all this is,” Speaking of brothers, Phoenix's voice cut through their little reunion and even Zoro seemed to tense up at the scolding before he seemed to remember that, yes, he too, was a dragon and had more important things to do than stand in a hallway hugging his friends. “Roronoa.”

They all untangled from one another, the green lizard clearing his throat as he pulled his coat back to place. Sanji wanted to laugh, it was weird seeing the great beast being yelled at like a small child along with the rest of them, but he didn't and the mood quickly shifted once more as Zoro fell back into his previous mind set. “I can't smell anyone else,” he started, nose tipped towards the ceiling once more. “But I know there are going to be more than just our brother in there.”

“We ran into this...thing.” Usopp was shaking slightly from where he was standing next to Sanji. He stomped one cloven hoof as he tried to keep his nervousness under control. “I have never seen anything like it before. It came from nowhere, attacked us and left again.”

“It was some sort of golem,” Sabo started, voice in a loud hiss as he tapped a finger at his chin. “But it wasn't at the same time. Earth and something else. I don't know, Zoro, I'm sorry.”

“Must be something of Hydra's.” Phoenix nodded, speaking quietly. “Much like your ice elemental Cook.”

Great...now this one was calling him 'cook' too. Made sense Sanji guessed, as Zoro hadn't introduced them using his name. Hell, the chef still wasn't convinced that blind bastard even knew what his real name was. The green drake snorted a laugh as he gripped at his sword hilts. “We need a plan guys. Hydra is darkness. All the evil that dwells in your heart.” The green drake brought a hand to his own chest as he glanced around the group. “From what I remember of our fight, he has the ability to control it somehow. He uses it to conceal himself, striking from multiple points at once. He is overwhelming and everyone needs to stay alert.”

“Like a fog, or Robin's tendrils.” Sanji spoke up, snapping his fingers as he started to speak quickly. “It was able to snuff my fires. And it's almost solid, but it seems to stay with him. When I fought him and when I saw him afterwards, that's what happened. It's like a thick fog, yet has the ability to become a solid thing.”

“Whoa! No way!” Luffy's voice rang out in the hall and Zoro moved to clamp a hand over his mouth. A muffled “sorry Zoro” could be heard and with a grumbled sigh, the dragon let him go.

“You fought him?” Phoenix cocked an eyebrow at the blond, black eyes narrowed at him slightly in accusation.

“Yes,” The chef nodded. “Well, kinda. He was headed to the manor and I got in his way. It really wasn't much of a fight...” Sanji trailed off, not really wanting to admit to everyone he got trounced by the shitty lizard. It was bad enough Zoro did it to him on almost a daily basis as it was.

“The natural enemy of darkness...” Law trailed off as Sabo laughed, interrupting him.

“Is light!” Both fists burst into flame, the elemental's black eyes shining in the fire light.

“I already told you, he was able to fight that!” Sanji snapped at him, smacking the blond in the arm.

“So he may be immune to light,” Phoenix started. “But he is still our brother and that means he shares our weaknesses as well. He has a physical body that can be damaged and we will just have to focus on that aspect then.” The tall blond spoke calmly, as if the fact a huge fight was about to go down wasn't an issue to him at all. His younger brother was thrumming with energy, so much pent up stress over the matter finally able to break free. “He's sure to have mastered fighting in his true form as well, Roronoa.”

“I have.” There was a feral grin to the newt's words as he looked to his brother before turning back to the rest of them. “Those other guys will be there too...” Zoro growled low, his whole demeanor shifting to the defensive. “Sabo, Cook...you two and the rest of you focus on them. The ice elemental shouldn't be that difficult, especially if he's already injured. What about that other guy you said?”

“The weird earth golem thing? He got one good hit on Luffy, but we got him back before he just vanished. He has golem properties, but he's...not one.” The fire elemental frowned, looking over to the golem as he grinned at everyone.

“I'm sure you guys will figure it out.” Nodding sharply, the green drake turned back down the hall. Everyone seemed to fall in easily, the comfort in taking commands from Zoro something they were all used to as this point. Even Sanji, as much as he argued with the dragon, found it was relieving to have direction from him, even if it was simple. They had a job to do and that was to back up the dragons as they encountered their brother.

Zoro took a couple steps forwards, hand gripped tightly on his swords hilts. Phoenix moved past him, silent on his feet as the younger brother looked over his shoulder to them with a feral grin. His eye shown brightly and somehow even the older dragon's black eyes did as well. They both were excited, Sanji could see it, the thrill of the hunt and knowledge of the fight bubbling to the surface. It was almost scary to see on the dragon. The Green was normally so composed, keeping his emotions so in check, that to see him almost...happy in his starting blood lust; a shiver ran down the chef's spine and Sanji was glad he was on the dragon's good side. “I have faith in you all.”

And with that, and what the chef could only assume was an unspoken word between them, the two dragon's struck off, running as fast as they could to the four way and cutting right down the hall towards what could have only been where Hydra was waiting. “Well, come on!” Sabo skipped into a run, following after them. Law moved as well, then Luffy and Sanji jerked into motion as Usopp groaned next to him.

This was it. This was the fight that Zoro had been waiting for all this time. All those countless hours with Law and getting his ass kicked by Zoro and Sabo were about to come to a front. Sanji was anxious and excited, wanting to put his newly learned skills to the test, but he was also worried he would let everyone down. He wasn't trained like they were, like Sabo and the dragons seemed to be. Sanji wasn't a seasoned fighter, he was a cook, in a manor house for the biggest group of misfits he had ever encountered.

“Wha...what do you think is going to be in there?” Usopp's voice was a little shaky, but he was loping along side them all just the same. The blond had to hand it to the gardener, of them all, he never expected to see him in these caves.

“His base element is earth,” Law spoke matter-of-factly, his tone low. “So expect things of the like to be present.”

“What about the darkness? The shadow?” Sanji asked as they all came to the corner, rounding it. Already ahead of them, Zoro and Phoenix were lost from view and it hadn't struck him till just now at how fast the dragons actually could move. “What I fought was no earth based creature.”

“Light and fire are the natural enemies of what he has become. We should be fine as long as we all stick together.” Sabo looked over his shoulder to them all, his black eyes shining in the amber light of the hall.

“As long as we kick some ass!” Luffy roared, his arms doing that weird color changing thing once more. The red and orange hues going all shiny and black as the golem laughed. Law remained oddly quiet, even for him and Sanji was pretty sure Usopp was debating on whether or not he should run away from the fight or stick with them and go through with it.

 


	33. Book Three: Onyx

“Sanji!” The shrill sound of his name from farther down the hall sounded at the same time an undead...thing rose from the ground in front of them, moaning and wailing as it pulled itself from the flooring. It stood shakily as it's hollow eyes seemed to bore right into them all, the group of them skidding to a stop right before any of them touched the disgusting thing. “You're okay!”

“What is that thing?!” Sanji's jaw dropped as Usopp yelped at the initial shock of it, but after that no one seemed to react to the gross monster beyond trying to stay away from it. Despite how it looked, it didn't seem to be hostile though and the cook pulled his attention from it to the sound of foot steps rushing towards them. “Perona?!” Turning to look over his shoulder, Sanji furrowed his brow in question and shock, watching as the pink haired girl and Master Mihawk ran towards them.

“How'd you guys get here?!” Usopp yelled, Luffy's voice following with a loud “yeah!”

“I was worried!” Leaping at him, Sanji caught the girl in a hug, sputtering over himself dumbly as she giggled and pulled away. “When the ghouls came back and said Hydra had you, we all got really upset and Zoro almost left without a plan. But then he left anyways with Phoenix and—” She cut herself off with a gasp, both hands flying to her mouth. “Have you seen Zoro?! Oh Sanji! Phoenix healed him and he can see again!”

“I saw him, yes.” The blond nodded, giving the girl a smile. He tried hard to not think about the dragon, but he couldn't help it. Zoro was stunning before, but now, with his eyesight returned to him...

“Enough, we don't have time for this!” Sabo spoke up, a slight growl to his words, cutting through the chef's thoughts. The fire elemental's eyes flashed, the black catching the dim light of the halls dangerously. “Yes, they are down the hall fighting right now! And we are standing here! They need us!”

“Right!” With a sharp nod, Perona stepped back away from everyone, raising her arms to her sides. “Go on, I will be right there once I call more ghouls to us.”

“Wait; what?!” Sanji snapped his head back to look at the thing in the hall. It was still standing there looking at them all, or well the blond thought it was. Low groans rose from it's non existent throat, bones rattling as it still shook in place. To be honest the thing looked like it was going to fall apart at any moment. “That thing is  _ yours _ ? How are you controlling it?”

“Perona-ya is a necromancer,” Law spoke lowly. “I take it you brought out the boat, yes?”

“No one ever listens to me.” Master Mihawk frowned at the doctor before glancing over to the girl, who now seemed lost in some sort of spell or trance. The term necromancer made Sanji's skin crawl and he shuddered uncontrollably. That made a hell of a lot of sense though with how creepy Perona could be most of the time. Honestly he had never seen a girl so willing to cut the heads off of dead fish before. Even if she did complain of hating it the whole time. “Robin and Franky are on the surface, waiting and keeping an eye out for anything. Let us do this quickly and be rid of Hydra once and for all.”

“Couldn't have agreed more!” The fire elemental slipped past the foul creature, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he did so. “That son of a bitch needs to pay for what he did to Portgas!”

“And Zoro too!” Luffy yelled loudly, walking up to the ghoul and poking it in the face...or skull or...whatever! It was fucking gross! And Luffy was just weird. The golem laughed lowly as the creature wailed at him, raising a hand that still had rotting flesh on it to poke back at Luffy.

“And my village!” The faun spoke up, his voice shaking slightly as he jumped in the air, hooves turning up the dirt as he landed. He skirted around the thing, a hand over his nose. “And just every mean thing he's ever done.” Grabbing at the golem, he tugged Luffy away, them and Sabo starting back off down the hall once more.

Sanji was torn on what to do. Did he go with the rest of them, race down that hall to see the fight that he knew was sure to be happening and he would be ultimately joining or did he stay here to make sure this thing didn't disrupt Perona as she worked her magics here in the hall. “Let us go, Mister Black,” Master Mihawk rested a hand on his shoulder, pulling his attention from the girl.

She seemed to be lost in her own little world, hands raised and weaving back and forth slightly as she muttered under her breath. Her ever present ear buds swayed at her throat, even as her head tipped back towards the ceiling. “But...” he started, meeting the golden eyes of his boss.

“She is fine. That ghoul right there is one of her oldest. It may not look like much, but it's strong and won't let any harm come to her.”

“It's gross.” Wrinkling his nose at it once more, the two men skirted around it, leaving the pink haired girl alone in the hall. Sanji looked back over his shoulder to her, only to see the ground break several times over, more skeletal hands and he thought a sword raise from the earth. A shudder broke through him, hard enough to actually throw off his balance, causing him to stumble to the side for a moment.

“You grow used to it, but she is constantly harassed by their undead whispering. It's why she keeps the headphones in.” The manor master gave a small smile, making the chef fumble over himself once more. That man was worse than the dragon, never smiling, never being nice or anything but cold or hostile all the time. So to see him show some sort of fondness towards his own family, let alone anyone... Sanji didn't know how to handle that.

They broke into the room faster than Sanji thought they would, them both moving without the distractions of Luffy and the others allowing them more room to run at full speed. The sight that met them caused the blond to halt quickly and suck in a breath in awe.

The cavern was huge compared to any other he had seen so far in this place. Even bigger than he thought possible. The entire thing was dimly lit, that weird glow just like the halls casting strange shadows all over the place. Zoro and Phoenix were no where to be seen though, presumably off chasing their brother deeper into the tunnels. Before them Sabo was yelling, pointing off towards the swarm of things coming at them from a large doorway off to the right.

Looking up, tipping his head back all the way, Sanji could barely make out the ceiling, wondering just how deep in the ground they were and just what type of elementals it took to build this massive cave. It was just like the halls, smooth and strong, making his jaw drop at the craftsmanship. A thin line of dirt drifted from far above, making the blond furrow his brow in question. That didn't seem right and couldn't be a good sign at all.

A low thrum sounded, Master Mihawk barking out a surprised curse as it vibrated across the flooring of the large cave. Sanji watched as Koala flitted across the room, from her place the chef could only assume was Mihawk's hat, growing to her full size as she landed next to the elemental. Her translucent wings were spread wide and seeming to be aflame. “Little shit!” Sanji huffed, body beginning to course with adrenaline, along with the hum of his own chakra energy. He could feel it surging through his core, pooling in his legs with a low vibration of its own. He shifted from one foot to the other in anticipation, feeling that familiar warmth flow through him.

Next to him his boss remained calm, hands crossed over his chest as he seemed to be taking in the situation around him. “Are you prepared for your first battle Mister Black?” Moving again, the manor master drew a long sword from it's place across his back. The blond stared at it in wonder for a moment, not noticing it till this very moment. He hadn't even known if the other man could fight, let alone know that, he too, was a swordsman. Mihawk held the heavy looking weapon easily in his grip, eyes still trailing over the mass of creatures that flooded into the room.

He swallowed. Seeing the hoard of weird creatures coming through the doorway was truly overwhelming, but he tried to push it aside. He had fought Hydra once already and an ice elemental as well. Sparred with a fucking dragon and had the power over fire. Sanji nodded, looking over to Master Mihawk and wondering how he could stay so calm. “I think so.”

“Then go.” The older man nodded sharply. “From the looks of them, your ability over fire will come in quite useful.”

“Right.” Shaking the idea of fear from his mind, Sanji moved, bolting forwards to meet up with the others at the front line of the pending fight. It was something like out of a movie, the evil creatures lining up in a thick massive line against the few heroes of the day. There were several things there that Sanji had never seen before. Weird ghost like shadows that moved silently and others that seemed to have more of a solid body, wailing so loud it hurt his ears.

Usopp was shuffled behind Law, the poor faun shaking visibly even as he reached into his ever present pack and dug around. Pulling out a slingshot, Sanji was surprised to see it, not marking the gardener as one to even carry a weapon; the curly haired man tossed a few pellet looking things in his other hand. Ammo, the blond assumed, watching as Usopp nodded at Law when the doctor looked at him, seeming to ask some silent question.

Sabo spun his bo staff in hand, one end digging into the packed dirt as he slammed it to the floor. “Shadows...all of ya.” He gave a feral grin as he tipped his head forwards just slightly. He was looking for a fight, the blond realized. Revenge on those who killed his dragon. Heat radiated from his shoulders, small flames blooming to life around his hands, dancing up his arms and licking at the air. “Koala.”

The fae didn't speak, her only answer a low laugh as she flicked her wings and weaved her arms across her chest. There was a moment of stillness in the air before she spoke strongly in a weird tone with strange words. The blond thought that perhaps it was language of the faes, watching as she rose high above them all in the cavern. Small glowing orbs filled the air, blinking into existence from the fae herself. They reminded Sanji of burning ash in the wind, filling the space above them all quickly.

Luffy bounced on his toes next to Usopp, laughing lowly. “When those drop...” The fire elemental spoke, eyes never leaving the hoard of monsters in front of them. “We attack.” Sanji watched as each of the little fires seemed to burn brighter, beginning to flit back and forth through the air like fireflies, blinking in and out as they slowly made their descent towards the ground.

One of the weird shadow creatures reached out, whining as it raised a smoky hand to touch the spark that drifted towards it. Others were doing the same, lured by the brightness of the lights all around them. Sanji watched, eyes wide, as one of the forward monsters made contact with the small orb. There was a sizzling snap, an explosion of heat and a wail of pain as the minion of darkness seemed to burst into flames before being wholly consumed in fire. It was almost instantly snuffed out, leaving nothing more than a thin wisp of smoke in it's wake.

Then a second, a third and a fourth, followed by many more as the fae's spell landed on their foes. One of the orbs drifted towards the chef, but he jumped away from it. Law reached a hand out, easily catching it and smirking at the blond when nothing happened as he held it in his hand. “It reacts to the darkness in one's soul Sanji-ya.”

“O-oh.” He nodded sharply as the golem yelled, diving head long into the remaining forces that were still there. His entire body grew black, as if the heated colors of his body cooled rapidly, eyes shining bright as he vanished into the fray. Despite the large number the spell did seem to destroy, there were many more still about and they all split up, going their separate ways as the fight began.

Sanji called his flames to him as he pressed a cigarette to his lip. The surge of energy through his body made him almost giddy as a smirk crossed his mouth. Flicking his lighter, the small flame glowing bright as it not only brought his smoke to life, but his abilities as well. Inhaling that first drag deeply, he shifted his weight and scanned the line, preparing for a strike. He felt much more confident about this fight now than he had before, the others helping to spur on his excitement and he let his eyes trail over the throng of enemies. That ice elemental and the weird golem thing both had to be here too somewhere right? He desperately wanted a round two with that ice creature.

Just as he went to move, body tensing and flames licking at his calves, a hand broke from the ground causing him to jump back. Perona's voice cut through the air, the meaning to her words lost to him as ghoul after ghoul swept past him into the fray. She stepped up next to him, two ghouls still at her side and crossed her arms. “Not so out numbered now are we?” Sticking out her tongue, her hands went to her hips and she grinned at him.

“What is wrong with you?” The blond balked, shaking his head and having to chuckle. This household was certainly something else that was for sure.

“Oh! Is that a nightshade!? I always wanted one of those!” With an evil laugh, the girl wandered off, raising an arm and flicking her hand as something came at her. Instantly the ghoul to her left leapt forwards, swinging a rusted blade and colliding with the creature. Okay, so no real need to worry about her then huh?

Rolling the cigarette across his lip, Sanji finally made his move. Breaking into a run, he ran towards a small group of weird looking creatures, one of Perona's own wrecking through them with ease. Her undead hoard was everywhere at once, the blond realized as he dropped to his hands to kick at an oncoming monster.

The chef wasn't sure what he was expecting, to hit something solid he figured. Instead his attack moved right through the abomination, much like it did when fighting Hydra's fog. As soon as his enemy touched his flames, it let out an ear piercing scream, body reacting similarly to the ones that were killed by Koala's spell. His feet slammed hard onto the packed ground as he came down, righting himself and moving again as something jumped from the throng to attack him.

Hearing a growl he whipped around to see a large black dog staring him down. The beasts hackles were raised, red eyes glowing brightly as foam dripped from bared teeth. Sanji crouched down, swinging a leg out towards it, almost dropping his smoke when the animal didn't explode in flame like he expected it to. Instead it yelped in pain and jumped away, circling around for another attack from a different angle.

Well, this was puzzling for sure. Standing once more, Sanji turned with the dog, keeping his gaze locked on the red eyes, trying to gauge what the hound would do next. He stepped back, settling his weight back on his leg as he prepared to strike when Sabo came from nowhere, slamming the end of his staff over the beast's skull. It crashed to the ground in a heap, but the elemental was still moving, swinging the staff right at the blond.

Swearing, the chef hit the dirt, looking over his shoulder as the other man took out something that had been sneaking up on Sanji. Resting his staff on his shoulder, Sabo reached out a hand to pull Sanji to his feet. “Shadow Mastiff...immune to light but take a hell of a beating. Physical damage works wonders on them, the monsters.” He gave Sanji a grin, his black eyes reflecting the light of his own flames.

Huffing out a laugh, the chef grinned at the man who gifted him his flames. “When we are done here, we need to sit down so you can teach me about all this shit. What in the fuck are we fighting?!”

“Elements of darkness, controlled by Hydra!” Leaping into the air once more, the elemental was gone, a bright streak across the cave as he landed in a whirl of flames. Another rain of firefly ash fell, decimating their attackers even more, but it only seemed to bring about stronger and more difficult foes.

Usopp appeared at his side next, slingshot pulled back as a trio of rock like creatures rose from the ground, throwing large boulders at them with ease. The faun referred to them as dark elementals, something that had helped destroy his home those years before. With a shallow, he dashed off to attack them, Luffy appearing from the middle of the mass with a yell of rage, slamming a blackened fist against one's jaw.

There was so much going on around him, it all happening at once and faster than he was able to keep track of. Sanji got lost in his own fights, spotting one or another here or there as he went. At one point, this weird crow like creature appeared, but Mihawk was there to combat that and their clash was intense. There was a moment of stillness when the two connected before an explosion of pressure swept across the room. Sanji stumbled from the force of it, knowing it was chakra energy and wondering just how powerful the manor master really was.

Moving to turn into another fight of his own, Sanji slipped on some ice, catching himself and grinning like the stubborn fool he was. The pale sheen to the floor gave it away now, his flames reflecting off the glass like surface. Several paces ahead of him, frost ran up the leg of a ghoul, but the undead creature gave no notice as it swung it's broken shield and cleaved the head of a mastiff in with it's rusted sword.

Rising back to his feet, the blond looked over his shoulder to see the pale form of the ice elemental walking towards him. Each step he took lined the earth with ice, the temperature dropping greatly and making the chef's skin rise with goosebumps. “Well,” he started, once more raising a cigarette to his lips and smirking around it as he flicked his lighter flame to life. Flames still licked at his calves, burned brightly around his ankles and Sanji tapped the toes of one shoe against the ground. “Look who it is.”

“I'm going to freeze that cocky smirk off your face wretch!” Without warning, he struck out, sending what Sanji could only call a snowball at him. Dodging, it hit some poor Mastiff, the dog yipping before ice coated it's black fur and it took off into the commotion.

Sanji slipped on the ice, arms flailing at his sides before regaining his balance as he moved off it to the dirt. He was glad there was so much going on. He knew he would never live it down if someone saw him slip like that. Bracing himself, he sucked in a drag off his smoke and smirked once more. So, his previous fight was back for a second round it seemed. Perfect.

 


	34. Book Three: Onyx

Time seemed to still for the blond chef that lived at the crazy manor. Pulling in a drag off his smoke, he watched through lidded eyes as his rival grew hotter under the collar by the second. Or well, would it be colder? No matter, he was going to kick his fucking ass and that was going to be the end of it. His arm seemed to be in some sort of icy cast, obviously self made, but the limb hung loosely at his side instead of being raised like his good arm was. “Hurt ya did I?”

“You certainly are one cocky son of a bitch, that's for sure. It's going to taste great when I kill you.” The elemental sneered at Sanji, once more raising his hand as small snowflakes seemed to materialize in his palm.

“Oi!” Sanji snapped, ripping his smoke from his mouth to point at the elemental as he held it between his fingers. “I fucked your ass up last time! What makes you think you can win this time?”

“I know your game this time boy.”

“Ah,” Sanji nodded, tipping his head back and forth as he did so. “Do you now? You think from one attack you have my entire game plan figured out?”

“I have enough of it.” Raising a foot, he slammed it down, a low crack like ice breaking sounding in the air as white seemed to flood the floor where they both stood. The chef slipped slightly when the ice met his feet, one arm flailing to hold his balance. Oh we were going to play this type of game were we now? The one where the bastard cheated?

Sanji sneered at him. “Laying ice isn't going to do any good here. Not when I don't even need to be on the ground to attack you. You're a dumb fuck.” Slamming his smoke against his lip once more, he moved, grinding his foot against the smooth surface and using his chakras to push off with. He closed the gap instantly, swinging around in a roundhouse kick like he had before, but not really expecting to connect since it was an already known attack.

And he was right, the ice elemental ducking it easily and slipping away. The other man laughed at him, his ice blue eyes sparkling. That one arm wasn't being used though, Sanji noted as he easily landed back on the ice. He could hear small cracks and pops of his own fire and he raised a leg to look down at the ice before his feet.

It really was as smooth as glass and dangerous. The chef knew he had to try to keep his fight to a small space as to not affect the others in their fights about the room. Each elemental had a limit though, he knew that much. Sabo had discussed that with him before and Sanji knew from his own experiences that after a certain amount of time, he just...couldn't produce his flames anymore. His stamina and chakra would just give out on him and he was done.

Being injured would have to affect that greatly. Maybe he could simply keep this guy on the defensive long enough for that to happen. There was still no sign of any of the dragons. Phoenix and Zoro just vanishing from the scene. He thought that perhaps they had gone through the door their enemies still poured from, but Sanji couldn't have been sure. Flicking his gaze to the dark portal, he really wasn't shocked when enemies still seemed to trickle through it, but they were growing less and less, which had to mean something.

His enemy was laughing at him once more, raising his hands in the air, a wince of pain crossing his pale features before slamming his good hand to the ground. The ice and floor ripped apart from his fingers, grinding and turning as it snaked across the ground towards him. Jumping back, Sanji almost dropped his cigarette as his jaw dropped, several spikes of rock and ice exploding from the ground where he had been standing.

Kicking off from one of his chakra footholds, the chef threw a kick out, grinning when the elemental swiped a hand through the air, creating a small shield of ice in defense. It was exactly what he wanted, getting him to use his powers and lower that bar. He would just wear him down before delivering that final blow. Using that as another foot hold, the blond swung around, pleased when he felt his foot connect to his enemy's shoulder blade, slamming the elemental into his own ice defense. There was a creaking sound accompanied by splintering ice and a low yell of pain.

Sanji wondered if his opponent could bleed as he pushed off what he was sure was broken bone to land smoothly on the floor once more. His legs were burning bright, their heat increasing from his own intense energy. Steam actually began rising from his feet and it took him a moment to realize his flames was melting the ice under the soles of his shoes. Picking up a foot, he grinned down at his shoe impression in the mud before looking back to the ice elemental. He was moving, though slowly now, that injured arm completely disabled and hanging limply at his side.

Threads of frost and ice ran over his skin and clothing, forming more of that cast like armor, locking the arm at his side and Sanji clearly saw his advantage. The man wasn't even trying to heal himself, if he even could and that just made his grin even broader. “You okay there?”

“How is it that a nothing like you has power like this? A  _ human _ no less.” Narrowing his eyes at Sanji, the elemental huffed angrily. Of all the things, he actually spit at Sanji's feet, making the blond curl his lip in disgust. Hydra's words in the market came back to him, that underlying tone of hate and discrimination and suddenly the blond understood why this guy was with the Earthen Brother in the first place.

“You really think we are going to let him go free? After everything he's done?” Sanji clicked his tongue in annoyance at him. “Fuck. I mean he tried to kill his own brother!”

“Hydra did kill one of them.” Chuckling lowly, the ice elemental moved towards Sanji once more, closing the gap carefully as he did so. The blond stepped back into a stance, eyes narrowed as he waited for the creature's next move. He was fairly certain he could dodge whatever it was, but wasn't about to let his guard down either. “The time of the dragons is over, you must see this. No, perhaps not.”

Clenching his good hand into a fist, a layer of ice froze over his knuckles before crackling up his arm. “Humans never understood quite the same way the magical did. They came in, swooped out of the shadows and demanded to be in the front of the fray, commanding the attention of the dragons and pushing all others aside.”

“What are you even talking about?!” Sanji snapped, jerking into motion and using one of his favorite moves against Zoro on this guy. He faked left, then moved right, waiting just long enough for him to raise his arm in an attack, before dodging left once more and spinning around to connect a heel to the jaw. The blind newt rarely saw it coming and the ice elemental didn't see it either, vision partly blocked from the shield of ice he had brought up to protect himself with.

Following through on the hit, Sanji slammed him into the ground before jumping away and biting at the end of the filter still perched in his mouth. How he had managed to not lose his smoke this entire time was beyond him. Spitting it from his mouth, tasting burning paper instead of tobacco, he ground it under his toes, watching to see what his opponent would do.

For a moment he didn't move, but then he twitched his fingers, arm moving to prop himself up and he raised his head slightly. Blue blood ran from his mouth, making Sanji stand a little taller and straighter in victory. So they could bleed after all. Coughing and spitting blood to the ground, the ice elemental struggled to his knees, leaning heavily upon himself and shoulders slumped forwards.

With deep and labored breaths, he spoke, his words rough as he tried to speak through a broken jaw and rise to his feet. “You...you will never understand what gifts you have. What we gave up for humans. Cast aside like old and broken things for those three's new toys; the dragons precious little humans.”

“It's you who needs to learn!” Perona's shrill voice cut through the clatter of chaos around Sanji. The elemental paled, if at all possible, gaze moving from Sanji to her as she came up behind him. The two ghoul warriors kept moving, each one moving towards the elemental with a weird type of grace and ease. “It's magical like you that keeps the rift open. All my family has ever done is try to help and you have made it worse. The likes of you whisper into the ears of the young and turn them to do your bidding. Roronoa came to us for help. He came to my ancestors village and lived with us, treated us as equals. Him and his elementals, yet you...the, the  _ spawn _ of water and who the hell only knows, keep the hate there. The darkness we have fought for generations to destroy and you keep it alive!”

“Perona...” Sanji started, snapping his mouth shut when she glared at him. Her dark eyes were on fire, clearly something deeper here that he had no understanding of, happening as well.

“Take him you two.” With a flick of her wrist, the ghouls grabbed the elemental, dragging him to his feet with wailing screams of joy.

“No!” He screamed, fighting in their hold, but with one broken arm and the other locked in the bony grip of death, it was clear he wasn't going to be doing anything. “Hydra will kill them, then where will you be necromancer?!”

“Right here!” Pointing at the ground, she barked the words at him. “I have waited too damned long to get back at you and there is no way Phoenix and Roronoa will let their brother overcome them today!” Raising a hand, she turned her back on the three, the ghouls dragging him off kicking and screaming.

Wide-eyed Sanji ducked around her to look Perona in the face. “What are they going to do with him?”

She shrugged. “Who knows? Kill him most likely. Those two are my oldest. They do things away from me so I don't have to see it.” Wiping a hand across her eyes, she grinned at him, an evil smirk as she locked eyes with the chef. “Maybe they will rip him apart, or do to him what Hydra did to Zoro. You did quite the number on him yourself.”

“You're twisted.” Sanji stepped away from her, gulping and making a mental note to never get on her bad side. “I had him you know.”

“I know.” Placing a hand on his shoulder, the pink haired girl gave him a gentle smile. “But what he was talking about what something that's bothered me for a while. As a human, like you, I needed to step in. My family has been involved with the dragons, especially Zoro, for a long time. Even he can't remember exactly when.”

“When I spoke with Hydra in the market, he mentioned never truly fitting in. I know now he meant himself with his brothers, but he was also referring to humans in the realm of magic wasn't he?”

Perona took a deep breath. “Ghouls. Revertimini ad me!” Then she looked off into the diminishing hoard of enemies. “Yes. Long ago everyone was at peace, human and magic alike, then Hydra's darkness grew and he started a crack. He spoke lies about his brothers, words of abandonment and how all the dragons wanted was to better themselves. A rift grew and soon the peoples of magics began to close themselves off. That's when humans began to lose their abilities. A handful of families were able to maintain their sight, mine being one of them, but most of them ended up like you and Law. The magic gene so recessive that it had rarely surfaced in someone.”

“So I just got lucky?” Sanji watched as he listened to her speak. Around them, undead creatures, one after another cleared a path to them, circling around them and forming a barricade around the two. This was more history Sanji had yet to learn and he was eager to soak up every word. This entire experience had rekindled his want to delve into the realms of magics and see what it was he could learn.

“Ghouls. Protege me. Protege meis. Go.” With a flick of her hand, several small groups broke from the large ring that had formed, moving back through the throng of shadows, killing and destroying as they went. “There is no luck to it. You were meant to be here for some reason. Even if we never figure out why that is. This fight will be over soon Sanji.”

Looking at the door, he saw that she spoke some sort of truth. There didn't seem to be anymore creatures coming through the doorway. “Should we...” he trailed off, watching as the girl started to move away from him. The chef bit at his lip. Going after the dragons may not have been the best idea in the end. The battle they were sure to be having would be one of intense power. It wouldn't be a place for humans like himself or even any of his group.

Sanji knew Zoro held back when they sparred. He even held back with Sabo, although not as much as he did with the blond. And they would just be in the way right? A distraction and more leverage for Hydra. He didn't want that. The blond knew he had caused more than enough trouble for a whole group of people.

Perona raised an arm and flicked her hand, one of her ghouls moving to her right to attack another shadow looking thing, not even bothering to pause in her walking as she made her way to the door one step at a time. All around her the ghouls moved with her, one large circle keeping the enemies at bay. It hit Sanji that nothing had attacked him either and he glanced to his sides to see that there were four ghouls at his side as well.

A shudder ran through him, but the thought comforted him as well. He was protected by his friend, even if the things were creepy as fuck and could only assume that the others were also being guarded by the ghouls as well. Just how strong was Perona anyway?!

Taking a step forward, all of the undead warriors moved with him. The one at his front never even bothering to look back as it took a rattling step forward, screaming at an enemy as it came at them. It swung out with it's mace, making the wraith like creature vanish before the blond's eyes, only to reappear right in front of him inside the circle. Without thinking, he kicked out, that same small explosion of light appearing as his leg connected with it. Fire. It worked wonders down here.

Chuckling darkly to himself, he moved forwards with more confidence, following Perona as she walked towards the doorway. Flicking her arm out once more, three of the ghouls broke away, moving forwards together towards the door and simply decimating anything that came near them. Once they reached it, they broke through it, disappearing from sight.

As soon as they disappeared, another wave of monsters broke through. Sanji sucked in a breath, stepping back into a stance as the enemy surged towards them, crashing against Perona's undead. A low rumble sounded, the vibration of it shaking the flooring under the chef's shoes. The thing off to his right paused, groaning as it looked at it's own feet. He had to agree with the undead abomination, something didn't feel right, that was sure.

Swallowing, Sanji looked down to watch a small rock skitter across the packed floor. The blond could feel a low thrum run up his legs and it made him uneasy. Something was coming. And it was big.

 


	35. Book Three: Onyx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **text that is in bold and italic is the characters speaking in draconic, translated so the reader can follow along.

There was a low rumble, followed by an eerie groan. Sanji snapped his head up, looking at the far wall. Near by Perona was weaving another spell, her ghouls fighting off the enemies that drifted towards her. Things fell strangely quiet for a moment, the ground under their feet shaking as if they were riding the aftershock of an earthquake. The stillness in the air was almost deafening before the wall exploded, a rain of dirt and chunks of earth falling down on everyone in the room.

Dodging to the side as a large boulder fell, the blond caught a flash of green, following it through the thick cloud of dust as the dragon landed and slid across the flooring a few feet from them. Zoro lay still a moment before slowly picking himself up off the flooring and giving a full body shake.

The dragon was truly a sight to behold when he was in his natural form, and even with all the dust filling the air, clouding the reptiles gleaming scales, Sanji felt his breath catch in his throat. A feral growl ripped from Zoro's mouth with a hiss as his tail whipped about angrily. Sanji had no time to really mull over how the newt had just suddenly burst through a wall, he just had. Instead, he took in his form, noting the few cuts and scrapes that marred his body.

Snorting and shaking his head once more, the dragon took off back for the hole he had created, jumping into the air and over the fray to disappear into the darkness that lay beyond once more. Another growl and a screech flooded through the opening as well and the fighting dragons seemed to be gone once more.

Dragging his attention away from where Zoro had gone, Sanji went back to attacking the forces of darkness that still threatened everyone and everything. One tried to sneak up on Perona, but he came to the rescue, quickly and easily destroying the shadow creature with his flames.

One of her ghouls howled at him and the chef couldn't help but curl his lip in disgust and back away. How she could even want to be near them was beyond him, but she did, and, if he had to admit, they were quite a lot of help. The mass amount of them she could call helped even the sides on this battle and actually tip it in their favor.

The ground shook again, knocking himself and Perona off balance. The pink hair girl squeaked in shock before Sanji was able to catch her and help her to stand once more. A fearsome roar sounded, but it almost sounded as if it was more in pain than anything. A low growl answered, one Sanji instantly could tell was the water lizard's, before he appeared once more.

This time though, he was moving to the open cavern of his own will, coming to land several paces away from Sanji and Perona again. Snarling, he swiped a black taloned paw at a group of shadow minions, before turning and curling in on himself in what the blond knew was him getting ready to shift forms. Sanji didn't take his eyes off him as he watched the dragon go from fully dragon, to some sort of hybrid right before his eyes. Knelt on the ground, tail curled around his own feet, the dragon took a deep breath and seemed to fall motionless, as if waiting for something. The blonde swallowed and took that quiet moment to take in this new form of the blind man's.

Zoro's over coat was gone, displaying sweat slicked muscle and scale, a long gleaming trail starting at the nape of his neck and following along his spine till it vanished under the hem of his pants. Splotches of green marked across his tanned skin, patterning in precise diamonds that seemed to bend and mould to his body as he moved. Both his forearms were covered, as if he were wearing some sort of arm guards and when he looked back over his shoulder to Sanji and Perona, Sanji saw that half his face was glistening in emerald scales as well.

His golden eye was glowing brightly and he narrowed it at them before he stood. Shaking bits of rock and grime from his hair, Zoro scratched at the base of a thick horn that grew out of his shaggy hair. He was really in need of a haircut, Sanji thought suddenly, blinking at why that of all things crossed his mind. The moment was swept away though as Hydra crashed through the wall, breaking it apart even more. There was an audible snap of his jaws as he tried to bite at something he clearly missed, and with a roar of rage, the large black dragon collapsed to the floor in a heap, throwing up a new cloud of dust.

For the first time Sanji got a good look at the youngest dragon's true form and he was huge, much bigger than Zoro was. He would have to be to support the weight of three heads and tails, his body thick and powerful. Hydra didn't bare any wings though, which made Sanji wonder if he was able to fly like Zoro was. He had four legs like the newt did, but it didn't seem to matter much at the moment as large chunks of the wall and ceiling began to cave in on his battered body.

Phoenix, also in some weird hybrid form, was in the air above them, wings in place of his arms and long taloned feet that grabbed at nothing in the air. “Necromancer!” he called down to them, tipping his head and his black eyes seemed to pin them both to their spots. He beat his wings once, his entire being bobbing in the air as he maintained his position. “Drink his blood.”

“ _ No _ !” Zoro's voice broke through the air, echoing off the far side of the cavern and Perona gasped loudly. “I won't let her!” The dragon snapped his head up to look at his brother, his entire body tensed in anger. His fists were clenched tightly around his sword hilts, the bloodied blades tipped towards the ground. The chef followed a line of blackened blood as it trailed down the steel, mixing with dirt from the air before it dropped off the tip to the ground below.

Phoenix ignored his brother, swooping down to land next to Perona. Her ghouls howled in rage, but didn't dare approach and Sanji watched as the pink haired girl actually took a step back from the Blue dragon as he stepped closer to her. “You will do as I ask.” The older Blue's voice was commanding, held an edge that told he wasn't used to being disobeyed.

“Phoenix, stop it.” Zoro was there, sliding in between them and sheathing one of his weapons. The other, the strange red one, remained in his grip. The blond could see how white his knuckles were along the hilt. The salamander was taller in this form, Sanji only now realizing it was because he walked on taloned feet as well as his brother. Black claws dug into the earth under them as he stood up against his oldest of brothers. “I won't have him hurt anyone else.”

“It's the only way and you know it Roronoa!” The older dragon wasn't backing down, growling out each word as he roughly placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to push the blind dragon aside.

“This isn't like when she did it with me. I  _ have _ no evil intent. The malice he holds could  _ consume _ her!” There was a desperation in Zoro's voice that Sanji hadn't heard there before. He glanced back to Perona as she reached out and touched his arm. Her fingers trailed almost lovingly over the green scales, making the flesh of the dragon's arm jump and twitch. “Perona; no.” Roronoa said again, his face set in a hard expression, but his tone wasn't nearly as authoritative as Phoenix's.

“I know what it could do.” The girl was somber, her tone serious as she gave the green drake a small smile. “Isn't this what you have been working towards?”

“Not at the cost of anyone else.” Zoro bared his fangs at her, but it didn't seem to hold any threat as the necromancer simply shook her head at him.

Behind them all there was a scrape across the ground, the loud rumble of debris shifting and one of Hydra's heads rose up, snaking into the air as the red eyes snapped open. “You are all fools! Every one of you.” When he laughed, it shook the ground, causing Sanji to stumble back a pace along with everyone else. “He's right  _ Brother,” _ the black creature hissed. “My blood could very well destroy her, his precious human.”

Phoenix took to the air, a powerful flap of his arms, shifting to his full form as his feet dug into the neck of the raised head, slamming it to the ground once more. Hydra gave a screech of pain and rage, clawing at the floor with a foot that had broken free of the rubble. There was no remorse in the Blue's actions as his claws flexed into the black scales, digging them up as trails of blood flowed towards the ground.

Hydra was still laughing, the constant low sound making small stones and shale bounce along the ground. The rest of the battle fell away from Sanji more so than it already had. All that he could see and hear was himself, the dragons and Perona. Her ghouls had formed a ring behind them, blocking any of the creatures of darkness from getting to them.

“What choice do we really have?” Perona was saying to the blind dragon, his gaze locked on the streams of blood from his brothers. “Zoro; Roronoa, listen to me.” The green drake turned his attention to her then, the look on his face sad and knowing as the pink haired girl grabbed a hold of his free hand. “This is my decision. I know what I am doing. Besides, I still have your blood as well. But...” she paused, closing her eyes before shaking her head. Opening them, she looked up at him, a resolve on her face the blond chef had never seen there before. “Don't hesitate.”

He closed his eye a moment, clearly dreading this entire situation. Opening it once more, he inhaled deeply. “I won't.” The dragon nodded, swallowing harshly.

Hydra's tail whipped out, breaking the three of them apart as they all jumped away from the snap of where it hit the ground. A new plume of dust rose, mixing with the one that had yet to fully settle. Instantly Zoro had two swords drawn again, twisting his body as he arced the weapons into the air in a counter attack against his brother. A screech of pain erupted from the rubble as a second head broke through, hissing at Zoro before snapping at Phoenix. The hawk like dragon hissed back, raising his folded wings in defense, claws flexing in the meat of his brother's neck.

Without warning, the green dragon grabbed a hold of Perona's wrist, pulling her arm out and raising his weapon. The two locked eyes as he set the blade across her exposed forearm and Sanji heard himself scream at the situation. What in the actual fuck where they doing?! There was no way he could stand there and let Zoro cut her! Phoenix said to drink blood, and as disgusting as that was, it didn't involving maiming the pink haired girl. “You fight him.” Zoro growled out. “You fight him with everything you fucking have Perona.” The dragon's voice sounded strained. This entire thing was obviously painful for him to have to do and it made Sanji wonder just how deep their connection was.

Effortlessly Roronoa slid the blade across Perona's arm, bright red blood welling up over the silver steel. “What are you doing?!” The chef yelled, anger flushing his system. They both ignored him still and he watched horrified as Zoro then turned the blade on his own arm, smearing his own dark blood against hers. Perona covered her hand over the mark with a small nod as the two locked eyes once more. Then Zoro took off, turning on his heel and running to join the fight as the third head rose from the rock to strike out at Phoenix. There was an audible snap of his jaws, the tail lashing overhead.

“What in the fuck are you doing?!” Sanji grabbed the girl by the shoulder, spinning her and looking down at her arm. Blood welled over her fingers, her red mixing with the deeper tone of Zoro's. He stumbled over his own thoughts, trying to think of something he had on him that he could use to stop the bleeding.

He started to pull off his shirt, but Perona kicked him in the foot with her boot. “Sanji, stop. You don't understand. It's okay. Just...just stay here.” Smiling at him weakly, she turned to watch the three dragons fighting once more.

“But...” he started, mouth agape. How could she be so calm about this?

“Just be quiet and watch.” The girl spoke solemnly and the blond obeyed, watching the blood drip through her fingers to the ground before turning to the fighting dragons as well.

Truly, it was a sight to see. Zoro was a blur of green with flashes of silver as he swung his weapons with expert ease. Phoenix in all his glory, sharp talons and sharper beak, digging under the scales and finding home in the flesh of the third dragon. Even Hydra, for what he was, as he fought against them for his very survival, was nothing but grace and beauty. Tails lashing and jaws snapping, he tried in vain to overcome his brothers but it was proving more difficult than the black dragon may have previously thought. There was a whirl of fog, that black smoke curling around the heads, before they vanished.

Hydra materialized in front of them, his human form battered and bloody. Cuts oozed blood that looked almost black but he seemed to not notice them as he licked at the corner of his mouth. A vile laugh broke out from his lips, flecks of blood raining down on both Sanji and Perona. The chef moved to step between them, but Hydra slammed a hand to Sanji's chest as he started to move, throwing the blond back away from them. “Stay there boy.” All the air rushed from his lungs and he dropped to the ground as he tried to inhale, but didn't seem to be able to. Gasping uselessly, Sanji could only look on in horror as the grotesque creature grabbed a hold of Perona's bleeding arm.

She screamed as he bit at his wrist, lapping at his own blood before pressing it to mix with the others. Perona was fighting him, kicking at him, but it was too late. The chef watched as the necromancer's eyes rolled back in her head, entire body going limp. Sanji knew he wasn't going to stop whatever it was that going on as he was finally able to suck in a breath and he scrambled to his feet to try to close the small distance between them now. “You will join  _ me _ necromancer. These fools don't realize what power I really have.”

“You son of a bitch!” Sanji felt his flames roll through him once more, jumping up and spinning into a kick that was meant to break bone. He hit nothing but air though, his leg passing through more of that black smoke as the dragon vanished with an echoing laugh.

“Perona!” Zoro's voice cut through the air again as the blond reacted, grabbing at her as she fell for the floor. Her arm was bleeding heavily still and she seemed to still be passed out. The young necromancer's entire body felt hot, sweat beading on her forehead. Sanji noticed the wound on her arm flowed with new blood with every rushing beat of her heart. The girl's slim weight was barely settled into the chef's arms when the dragon appeared, taking her and falling to the ground on his knees. “Dammit! Perona!”

The dragon pushed the loose hair from her eyes, looking down at the mixing bloods of her forearm before looking up to Sanji. There was a wild panicked look in that golden eye as he sucked in a breath. Zoro didn't even break eye contact, the two simply staring at one another as he yelled loudly. “Law!”

The doctor appeared almost instantly, making Sanji jump as he knelt down beside the dragon. He was covered in dirt and what appeared to be blood, his hat gone and unruly black hair damp with sweat. “Holy shit! What happened to her?”

“Heal her!” Zoro's voice was on the edge of frantic, watching almost helplessly as he clung to her unconscious form. “She mixed her blood with my brother.”

Law paused in his work, tattoos glowing a brilliant white as his eyes met the dragon's. Then he flicked them back to the wound on her arm. The chef watched as the mark closed and healed, leaving the still wet blood on her arm. “Zoro-ya, why?”

“If she can control it, it will grant her the power over his element.” Zoro's words were explaining the truth behind the actions, but his tone was full of sorrow. He held tightly to her, head dropping against her forehead. The hand that was still in her hair gripped tighter to it as he sucked in a sharp breath. The dragon's normally calm and steady voice shook a little as he spoke. “I didn't want her to do it. If she can't fight him...If he wins whatever struggle they are having...”

“So he wasn't making that up?” Sanji looked over to Law then back to the dragon as he raised his head. The glow to his eye was completely gone now, his features returning a little more to normal. His nose and forehead weren't as broad and those long canine teeth were shorter as well. “He said that she would join him.”

“No,” the dragon shook his head, running his hand over the unconscious girl's cheek once more. “You fight him Perona. You hear me?! Don't make me do it.”

“Do what?” Law's tattoos faded, a light gray instead of the bright white, giving testament to how much of his powers he had used this battle. He looked over to Sanji as the dragon mumbled into her hair, running his fingers through it constantly as he rocked back and forth with her.

Sanji had never seen the dragon show any type of emotion before besides anger, so this despair he was showing was freaking him out. Law, too, as he sucked in a sharp breath when the dragon raised his head once more, tears trailing freely over his cheeks and the small scales that littered his face. The dragon's voice sounded hoarse as he spoke. “Kill her.”

Zoro's voice broke on the short sentence, blinking away tears that were just replaced with more. “What?” Both Sanji and the doctor barked and Law actually reached out and smacked Zoro against the side of his head. The drake growled at him, flicking his tail, but didn't speak. It didn't seem to deter Law in the slightest. “Why would you let her do something like that?! What's wrong with you?!”

“I told her no!” Zoro snapped back at Law, his tail flicking angrily in the dirt like a pissed off cat. “She never listens to me.” Frowning, he looked down at the unconscious girl, shifting her weight slightly in his lap. “Perona... ** _fight him_**.”

“What's he saying?” Sanji whispered to Law, but the doctor simply shook his head.

Behind them, Phoenix had discovered the location of their brother and the two were fighting once more. The battle raged on around them, but even in her current state Perona's ghouls kept the enemies at bay. Zoro didn't seem to care at all anymore, his attention focused on Perona's motionless form as he mumbled that phrase over and over to her. The dragon seemed lost in his own mind, nothing else catching his attention around them almost as if there was no battle being fought just feet from where they were.

Without a warning, she inhaled a deep breath, body jerking and back arching in the newt's lap, before her eyes snapped open. The sight made Sanji fall back on his ass from his crouching position, swearing as he did so. The irises of Perona's eyes glowed gold, the same color as Zoro's as she looked up at him. When she spoke, her tone was neutral, almost hollow sounding as if she was speaking in multiple voices at once. “We have overpowered him. _**His blood is ours.**_ ”

“Good.” Nodding, the dragon froze as her eyes faded back to her normal color and she raised a hand to wipe at his cheek. “You had me worried.” He breathed out slowly, tipping his head ever so slightly into her touch.

“It's not like yours...” Trailing off, her voice sounding more normal, the necromancer sat up, placing a hand against her forehead and closing her eyes. “It burns. I can feel his blood running through my veins.”

“Are you...” Standing, Zoro pulled Perona to her feet, keeping his hands on her shoulders and ducking down to peer into her face. His tail still swayed slightly, the small tuft of green at the end fanning the dirt of the floor lightly. The pink haired girl nodded, swallowing as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Don't go far.” Gripping onto Zoro's arm, she turned to face Law and Sanji. “You guys either. I have to call back most of my ghouls to do this. I am going to need your help and protection as well.”

“Right.” Sanji didn't even give it a second thought at this point, deciding and having learned, that no matter how fucked up it seemed, whatever that dumb-ass dragon was up to, usually worked out in the end. Rising to his feet, he shifted his weight a little, letting his chakras flow through him with practiced ease. “What are you going to do?”

The dragon drew a weapon once more, holding the blade lightly in his free hand as his other stayed locked on Perona's forearm. Completely ignoring Sanji, Zoro turned to look over his shoulder to the battle that was still going on between his brothers. “Raise Pab as well.”

 


	36. Book Three: Onyx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **text that is in bold and italic is the characters speaking in draconic, translated so the reader can follow along.

“What's a Pab?” The words were out of Sanji's mouth before he could stop them, but if Zoro heard him, he ignored the blond.

“Sanji-ya is right. What are you going to do?” Law spoke up as well, his voice calm and stable despite the whirlwind that was this entire situation.

The girl smirked, one corner of her mouth lifting as she took a step back and let go of Zoro's arm to stand on her own two feet. Raising her arms in front of her, open hands snapping into fists, she spoke what the chef could only think was another spell of sorts before she looked between him and Law. “Calling the Shadows.”

Things were quiet for only a second after she spoke, before, across the cavern, screams and wails of her undead army rose up. Several of the ones around them sunk back into the ground silently and the two that had dragged off the elemental earlier reappeared as well. The Green curled his lip in disgust as one of them drew close to him, flexing the grip on his weapon as he snorted. “Perona, I need to be with my brother. I need to be in that fight.”

She didn't answer and the drake didn't wait for a reply as he skirted around the undead creatures and ran off to join Phoenix in the still raging fight against their brother. Sanji watched him go, just letting his eyes trail over the dragon's form for a moment before Hydra's tail whipped out, catching the dragon and throwing him bodily farther away. The chef drew a sharp breath, body tensing with wanting to move, but he had Perona to look after. It caused him to pause, his mind racing on what he should be doing.

Law's hand gripped his shoulder and Sanji turned, meeting his eyes. “Zoro-ya will be fine. We have other things to worry about right now.”

Nodding sharply, the blond turned back to Perona as she started speaking once more. She spoke in that strange language her and Zoro had talked to one another in and gestured with her hands as she did so. The weaving of her arms was an intricate, complex set of movements before she dropped to a kneeling position on the ground and slammed a hand to the dirt.

The low rumble that shook the ground wasn't from the fighting dragons, nor was it from the bit of the wall that still seemed to be crumbling. It started under their feet, bits of rock and dirt shaking and jumping around their shoes. The necromancer didn't move except to curl her spread fingers through the dirt. She muttered “Sjach di wer darastrix; si relgr ekess wux” over and over again, as her eyes began to glow gold once more. Not moving from the spot he was crouched in, Sanji watched Perona and the blond really wished he knew what she was saying.

Like her ghouls, the ground broke, the undead form of something rising from below them. Unlike her ghouls though, whatever this was didn't claw its way from the earth with groans and wails. Instead it almost seemed to seep through it, like water through moist earth. It rose completely silently, moulding and forming into the shape of a human till it stood straight and tall before them.

“Holy shit!” Law took the words right from Sanji's mouth as his jaw dropped open and the creature before them opened glowing green eyes. It was Zoro, for lack of a better way of putting it, but it was the dragon from younger days. It had to be. The spiky green hair was shorter and damp looking skin was a bit paler. Both eyes were fully intact and there was none of the scaring. “What is that?!”

Perona stood, bowing slightly to the copy of the dragon that stood in front of them. “Thank you for heeding my call.”

“ _ **Why have you called?**_ ” It even sounded like the dragon when it spoke. The tone was a bit more bubbly though, lighter and almost spoken as if it were from underwater. Whatever this was, it was obvious it was the dragon from another time and another place.

“Roronoa asked me to call you, to help the Shadow of Earth with Hydra.” Perona had a respectful tone to her voice. Her words were soft and almost endearing as she spoke to this weird thing. Sanji and Law were both speechless, mouths gaping as they watched the exchange. What in the actual fuck was going on around here? How could there be two Zoros in one place? And how did she do that?

Sanji decided, since it held such a close resemblance to the blind newt, that this thing was male and his language was strange, but Perona seemed to understand it easily enough. The doctor looked just as confused as the chef did and he was glad it wasn't just him. “Hydra?” It was the first word spoken from the dragon copy that Sanji knew, but it didn't last long as the Zoro look-a-like furrowed his brow just like the dragon did in confusion. “ ** _What is wrong with the earth brother?_** ”

“He is corrupt. In here.” Perona laid a hand over her chest, fingers tapping over her heart. “You have missed so much, Shadow of Water, but it isn't my place to explain. I simply do what Roronoa asks of me.”

This...shadow, as Perona called him, grunted and bobbed his head in a jerk of a nod just like Zoro would have done. “ ** _Very well. I will await his command._** ”

“What's going on?” Law whispered to Sanji as Perona nodded at the second Zoro and started in her strange chants once more.

“I have no idea.” Sanji whispered back, watching as the creature looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the few shadow creatures that had stumbled towards them. Things were really beginning to end, most of the enemy either having been defeated or retreating when the dragons broke through the wall.

Raising a hand almost lazily, the dragon shadow flicked two fingers into the air at the oncoming attackers. Water seemed to materialize from nowhere, long thin tentacle like streams whipping at the shadows. It went right through them, much to the horror of the undead dragon creature.

Without thinking Sanji moved, his flames coming to him once more as he darted past the weird thing and attacked the few shadows without much effort. They screamed as he touched them, exploding into fire and light before vanishing. “Ah,” Giving Sanji a dopey grin, the shadow nodded and waved a hand at his legs. “ _ **Fire**_.”

“...yes?” Sanji nodded, unsure of himself. He had no idea what this creature was saying or why he was able to control water for that matter, but he seemed impressed with his fire abilities and it was good enough for the blond for the time being. There would be time to ask questions later.

Perona once again dropped to her knees, slamming a hand to the dirt. This time her eyes were glowing a dark red, much the same as Hydra's own eyes were. It occurred to him that maybe it had to do with whatever spell she was casting and that maybe this Zoro look-a-like was truly just that. A copy of the dragon himself.

Moving to the necromancer's back to watch for enemies that wandered closer to them, Sanji watched from the corner of his eye as the dragon-look-a-like called more water too him. He'd seen Zoro do something similar before out at his pool, but the blind bastard had been moving spheres of water around to drop on people as a joke.

This being was doing it for defensive purposes, the small orbs bobbing lightly in the air around him. Squaring his feet and crossing his arms, he watched the dragons fight across the cavern, ignoring everything else that seemed to be going on closer to them.

Law edged closer to Sanji, keeping his eyes on the undead creature. “What do you think he is?”

“Not sure,” the blond shook his head, pulling a cigarette from his pocket. Tapping it against his lip, he watched a small scuffle between Luffy and one of those Shadow Mastiffs. The golem was handling his own fairly easily, trading blows with the large black animal until he seemed to have enough of screwing around and ended the fight with one solid hit.

Pulling his lighter, the chef lit up, inhaling deeply and holding the smoke in his lungs as he spoke. “But it looks a hellava lot like the damned salamander doesn't it?” Exhaling, Sanji flicked his eyes to Law who nodded with a hum of agreement.

More rumbling from under their feet occurred and Perona stood, looking at them both over her shoulder as her eyes dimmed from the red back to her dark irises. “Step back.”

“Huh?” Both chef and doctor asked at the same time.

“Step. Back.” Waving her hands at them, Perona shooed them from the spot they were standing as once more the ground seemed to break and something came from it. This time though, instead of the ghouls or even the other Zoro, the earth itself seemed to take shape, shifting and compacting upon itself until the figure of a man stood before them. Tall and lean, this new being regarded them all coolly, flicking red glowing eyes from one to another. Their skin seemed to be tinted with gold, as if a layer of dust had settled on their skin.

The green haired copy looked over his shoulder, before turning. “Edar...” the younger Zoro growled out, his orbs coming to his defense easily. The water globes thinned out, becoming the whip like blades once more, poised and ready to attack at the flick of a hand from the man.

“Pab...” this new man responded in kind, the ground under all their feet rumbling as sand filled the air, swirling lines of it coming to circle the black haired new comer. He flexed a hand at his side as well, red eyes seeming to glare a hole through the other person.

“Easy guys...” Perona stepped between them, raising a hand to each and looking at them both in turn. “Pab, back down. What would Roronoa say?” The green haired man scoffed and rolled his eyes, but he stepped back a pace and with a wave on his hand, his water globes fell back to their previous resting state near his own person.

“And you, Edar...” the necromancer pointed at him directly, raising an eyebrow at him. “Hydra is not in control here. You were called here to help by me, and I serve Roronoa.” For a moment the sands surrounding him seemed to condense and move faster, as if he were going to attack. Sanji shifted his weight and saw that Pab, he was assuming his name was, did something similar; both of them waiting for an attack.

Growling this time, Edar backed down, his red eyes flashing, before he looked off to the fight across the room. The two brothers had the upper hand once more; Phoenix in his natural form with a head pinned down, more rocks and chunks of wall burying Hydra as the three dragons tore the place apart. Zoro had shifted again, his sleek green body on the ground coiled for an attack. “What...” Edar started and Sanji was actually surprised to hear it speak a language he knew. “What has happened to my Master?” Sadness flitted across his golden features, the sand about his body thinning out and drifting towards the ground.

“ _ **His evil has corrupted him; like we all knew it would!**_ ” Pab spat the words before chuckling lowly to himself. Without hesitation, Edar threw one of the rocks on the ground across the gap to the other undead creature. Sanji barely saw him flick his hand before the rock lifted from the ground to sail through the air. The water creature dodged the attack and countered, one of the globes flying over Perona's head to smash against the red eyed man's face.

Wiping a hand down his face, Edar moved once more, shifting his weight and making the ground shake under all their feet. “Do  _ not _ talk to me like that, you useless fool! Hydra would never...!”

“Hydra has!” Zoro appeared from nowhere, growling low as he grabbed at Edar's shirt. He bared his fangs at the creature before pushing him away and turning on his copy. “And you! I asked you here and this is how you act?! I taught you better!”

“Edar tlusha...”

“Edar began nothing.” He hissed, snarling the words. “Do not think you can lie to me. You are here...” And Zoro spun to look at the other elemental being. “You are  _ both _ here to help assist myself and Phoenix in the capture of Hydra. You are not here to continue petty squabbles I told you to let rest centuries ago!”

“Centuries?!” The earth creature asked, shock evident on his face.

“Centuries.” The dragon confirmed with a nod. “I need your help, along with Pab's to bring my brother under control so we can move him. Phoenix and I know where to bring him so he can't hurt anyone again, but we need your help Edar, along with the Earthen Masters to make it so.”

“I knew of his jealousy of you and the others. I don't understand why, his element is the strongest of them.” Edar was quiet a moment, before sighing deeply. “He truly has lost himself then?” Those red eyes flashed dangerously once more, several thin streams of sand shifting around the dragon and the other elemental. Pab stepped back into a stance once more, his own little balls of water moving from globes to tendrils that snaked in the air as well. “Roronoa do not lie to me.”

“When have I ever lied to you Shadow of Earth. These,” and the dragon waved a hand at his own scarring. “Are from him when he tried to kill me. He did kill Portgas. There is nothing left of the Hydra you knew.” Growling, he waved a hand back at his brothers, where Phoenix was once more battling one of the heads. Blood ran from between Hydra's teeth as the red eyes tracked the older dragon. With a hiss, blood rained down on the ground and the black dragon's tail snapped in the air in a counter attack. “Look at him! Is there even anything left of the dragon you knew?”

“No...” Shaking his head, the copy spoke lowly. He looked down at his own hands, palms up and Sanji couldn't help but take in the pale gold complexion as well. If Pab was Zoro's copy, could Edar possibly be what Hydra used to look like? Closing his eyes, and inhaling deeply, Edar nodded. “Than I shall help you, Dragon of Water.”

“Good.” Zoro nodded, turning his glare back on his copy and raising an eyebrow at him. With a huff, like some scolded child, Pab pulled the tendrils back, once more returning them to the floating balls that lingered about him. The dragon reached out and took one, seeming to snatch it right from the air and holding it lightly in one hand. “Cook.”

Sanji jerked to attention, pulling his cigarette from his mouth and dropping it to crush under his foot as Zoro turned his attention to him. That single golden eye pinned Sanji to his spot, unnerving the chef more than his blinded gaze ever could. “Y-yeah? What?” He asked, suddenly nervous with no reasonable explanation.

Dropping his hand from the water ball, which seemed to bob in the air where it was left, the bastard reached out and grabbed the blond's wrist. Sanji expected his fingers to be wet from holding the water, but Zoro's hand was dry and warm like it always was. With his free hand, he ran his fingers over his forearm where he knew the marks from Sabo lay. “He can sense you; can you sense him?”

“I just know he's alive,” Sanji shook his head as he watched those tanned fingers trail lightly over his pale flesh. He repressed a shudder. All he'd ever wanted was for Zoro to caress him and when he finally did, it had nothing to do with the chef's desires.

The dragon was quiet a moment longer before he grunted and dropped his arm. “I want you, along with Sabo, Koala and the others to clean up this rabble that's left. Perona, Pab and Edar, you come with me.”

The chef scoffed, smacking Zoro in the arm. It was the wrong thing to do as Pab moved to the dragon's defense, but the water newt held up a hand, placing it against the younger version of himself's chest. Sanji flicked his attention to those pissed off green eyes before moving back to the single gold one that was focused on him. “Who do you think you are, bossing me around, you shitty salamander?”

“Just do it Cook. Now is not the time to argue. I'm not in the mood for your petty insults.” The dragon's tone was low, sounding more tired than anything as he shook his head slightly.

“Petty!” Sanji barked, hands snapping into fists as he watched Zoro and the others turn from him and walk away. Perona patted his shoulder as she passed, smiling softly to him before turning her back and calling out to her ghouls. Crossing his arms, he watched them all walk away, not even realizing he was focused on Zoro's back a little more than he should have been till Law jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.

“Shouldn't we be finding Sabo-ya and doing as we were asked?”

“Since when do you take orders from Zoro Law?” Sanji spat back, fishing out a new cigarette even as he started looking about for the large fires that would tell him exactly where the elemental had gotten off to.

“I have always acknowledged what he has said to me and considered his words thoroughly. Mind you, when I first met him, he really was trying to kill me, not just messing around like he was with you.”

“You mean him stepping on me was a joke?” Sanji fumbled with the unlit cigarette as he dropped it from his mouth, trying to catch it in his hands and not break it at the same time. The doctor shrugged, raising his hands in the air as he moved away as well, going off in the direction they had last seen Luffy in. “Hey! Get back here! Law! What the fuck?!”

These people really were going to be the death of him!


	37. Book Three: Onyx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **text that is in bold and italic is the characters speaking in draconic, translated so the reader can follow along.

Usopp took a deep breath and let his body sag back against the wall. He could smell one of Perona's stronger ghouls nearby as well as hear its wails as it lumbered about. Most of them had suddenly vanished just minutes before and he thought he heard Zoro yell at one point as well.

Hell if he really knew. The gardener was too busy trying to keep himself alive and these crazy shadow creatures were hard as hell to kill. Thankfully he'd seemed to have Luffy around for the most part, but even that crazy golem had wandered off at the first sight of stronger enemies.

That left Usopp alone, with his back literally against the wall, near the fighting dragons. Zoro reappeared at one point and the three went at it again, but it seemed as suddenly as he appeared he was gone once more, leaving Phoenix to dish out justice to his younger brother. Alone. Not that the older dragon didn't seem to have a handle on it, almost enjoying brutally tearing up his brother a little more than he should have been.

And those two were mean. Scratching, clawing, ripping and biting at one another, Hydra even lashed out with his tail on occasion. There was dark blood everywhere, the smell alone making the young faun want to throw up. His body was shaking beyond his control and he swallowed dryly as he heard Phoenix screech once more. Hydra hissed back at him, one of the two undamaged heads snapping at him. The Blue simply flexed his claws into the meat of the neck his was perched on and the youngest brother howled in rage once more.

A bright flare that could have only been Sabo flashed across the room, lighting up a good portion of the cavern and Usopp could see the enemy was dwindling greatly. There really wasn't even a need for him to be fighting anymore really. Maybe if he could find Master Mihawk, he would be able to help there as back up. Yeah, he was better at backup anyways. He really wasn't an in-your-face fighter like Zoro and the others were. He preferred not fighting at all, but if he needed to, he would rather stand behind them and cover them with his slingshot.

Edging along the wall, head tipped back to keep an eye on the fight between dragons, Usopp slowly made his way away from them. The wall of the cavern rounded ever so slightly here as well and he was just about far enough away to start to be able to see the battle between brothers from a different angle when a hand slammed onto his shoulder and pulled him away from the wall.

Usopp yelped loudly and kicked out, one cloven hoof connecting squarely with someone's knee. He heard a growl and a muttered curse, the very familiar deep voice making him grow pale as he turned around. “Zoro! I—I...you scared me!”

“So you kick me?!” The dragon snarled, baring fangs at him. With a gulp, Usopp backed away till his back hit the wall again. “Whatever, let's go.” Zoro growled out, pushing past the faun and moving closer to his fighting brothers.

“Go?!” Mouth dropping open, he watched as Zoro, Pab and someone else walked past him. Perona stopped next to him, tipping her head to the side ever so slightly. “Who is that? What is going on? Why is Pab here?”

“That's Edar,” she commented lowly, tipping her head back to get a better look at the fight between the dragons. “He's Hydra's Shadow, much as Pab is Zoro's. He asked me to summon them both. I have no idea what he has planned, but Zoro wanted me here as well. Not sure what I can do at this point.” Crossing her arms, the pink haired girl gave a small pout and stomped her foot.

“W—what are they going t—to do?” Usopp stuttered, his entire body shaking beyond his control. He didn't like this one bit. He really didn't want to be any closer to those blood thirsty creatures than he needed to be! It was bad enough Zoro showed signs of being a predator, but these two were far worse than the Water Dragon ever was.

“I don't know, but come on, he wants you too for some reason. You know how Zoro is, like he is going to tell us anything.”

“R—right.” Usopp nodded, body still shaking, but followed along, actually dashing past Perona to Zoro's side. The dragon looked over at him, simply raising his eyebrow before Hydra roared at the group, one head noticing them and moving its attention from Phoenix to them.

“Edar...” he growled out, the battered head snaking down to ground level. The mouth parted ever so slightly, long yellowed teeth shining in the low light. Zoro held out an arm, keeping Usopp and Perona behind himself as he unsheathed one of his swords. Pab's water defenses went from the little orbs to the snapping tendrils as he came to stand next to the dragon. Even Edar, who oddly enough, looked nothing like Hydra as Usopp knew him, raised his element against the dragon as well. “So she was able to overcome my blood? Your precious Human, Roronoa. She looks just like her.”

“Shut up!” Zoro yelled at him, shifting his stance and raising the blade. “You wouldn't understand.”

Hydra chuckled lowly from the single head, even while the other still fought and snapped at Phoenix. Turning his head so one eye faced them, the faun took a step back as that large red iris seemed to focus in on them all. He wouldn't run, but Usopp would also be lying if he said he wasn't terrified right now. “Neban...” He growled out, the single word seeming to make the earth elemental cringe ever so slightly. “Tell me...Zoro; what a name for them to use. How much like your mate is she?”

“Hydra...” Zoro hissed back at him, swiping the blade through the air to bite into his brother's snout. The black dragon jerked back, raising the head just a little before snapping his jaws once more. “I've had enough of your shit for one day.”

“Have I hit a nerve Brother?” Hydra seemed to sneer at them all before Phoenix reached out and bit at the neck of this head, sharp beak breaking through scales and raining blood down on the group on the ground. The black dragon screamed out in rage, tossing his head and trying to dislodge the older dragon.

“Usopp.” Zoro sheathed his sword and grabbed one of Pab's tendrils, literally scooping it up from where it was resting and moving towards the faun. He didn't seem to be phased by the thrashing dragons above him in the slightest. “What you got in that pack? Any of those vines seedlings?”

It took the faun a moment to pull his eyes away from the fight over their heads to meet the gold eye of his friend. “What?!” The faun tried to jump away from the grabbing hands of the dragon, but he didn't make it far, only causing Zoro to growl low at him once more. The strap dug into Usopp's neck as Zoro pawed through it. “Yeah, just get out of there! Why do you need those?!” He snatched it away from the dragon, clutching his poor bag to his chest.

“I see what you are trying to do,” Edar turned from his stance, the sand about his body swirling into a more relaxed state. Pab still held his defensive stance, the water like whips ready to strike if need be. He seemed to be holding guard while the dragon literally had his back turned on his brother.

“Let me see Usopp!” Zoro pulled open his pack, digging through it despite the faun's attempts to get him out of it.

“You'll ruin them!” He yelled at the dragon, smacking him in the head and finally getting Zoro to pull away long enough for him to get in there as well. “They are ready to be planted on the far side of the wall, near the pool, where that bare spot is. Why do you need them?”

Carefully Usopp pulled one of the seedlings from the bag. It was still in its little paper planter, but the leaves were a deep green and the stem strong. “You're a water dragon, what are you gonna do with a plant?”

“How many do you have?!” Zoro asked, a low growl to his words. Without waiting for a reply, he knelt down, one hand pressing into the dirt as he closed his eyes.

“I—I don't know. Three or four...” The faun trailed off as he looked back into his pack. Edar took the single seedling and pulled it from the cup, making Usopp scream in rage. “Why?!” he cried. “I have been nursing those for weeks!”

“Hush.” The gold tinted creature waved a dismissive hand at the faun and cupped the roots of the vine plant in both hands. Behind them, Pab was taking joy in helping Phoenix, whips of water slashing through the air in an attempt to keep Hydra at bay.

“Ah...” Nodding to himself, Zoro stood and brought his hands together at his chest, knuckles of each fist interlocking easily. Usopp had seen him do that a thousand times before when he was meditating out by the pool, so why was he doing it now. “Edar, can you manipulate that vine?”

“Way ahead of you Roronoa.” The Shadow laughed as Usopp turned to him once more. The faun's jaw dropped open as he watched his little seedling sprout and grow before his eyes. The vines twisted and grew, the leaves staying small as the stalk grew thick and strong. Within moments, Edar had, not only his small clouds of sand, but several vine whips poised and ready to strike. All of them centering from the vine plant that he had placed on the ground at his feet.

In front of them, Hydra screeched at them, moving to snap at Edar. The elemental moved back into a stance without even flinching, commanding the vines flawlessly. One of them lashed out, even as Pab's water whips moved as well and as soon at the two touched, they wove into one, wrapping around Hydra's snout and tying it shut. The dragon jerked his head back and a black claw came up, trying to dislodge the makeshift rope, but it did little good and only seemed to tighten each time the black dragon swiped and pawed at it.

“Good.” Zoro chuckled lowly to himself, moving from the stance he had taken and lowering his arms. Usopp hadn't even seen him move, but from the looks of it, he had been involved in that binding as well. “That ought to shut you up. Now,” Stepping back into a stance once more, the dragon lowered his hands towards the ground and made to pull at the air below them.

Usopp jumped when the ground below them rumbled slightly before water began to creep up through the cracks in the rocks. He barely bit back the yell that threatened to break free as he realized it was water Zoro was commanding and calling to them. “How is this helping Zoro!?” He shrieked, jumping up onto a stone and glaring at the water as it rose silently from the ground.

“Usopp...” Perona jumped up onto the rock with him. “Zoro knows what he is doing, just let him be.”

“I didn't think drowning us all was part of the plan!” The gardener howled. “First he takes my plants, now he's going to kill us! I'm too young to die! My horns haven't even fully come in yet!” Usopp started sobbing into his hands.

“Would you shut up Usopp!” Zoro barked, pulling the water up from the ground into tendrils similar to Pab's own, only much larger and much stronger looking. The faun didn't even know water could look strong, but being manipulated by the very controller of the element, the shimmering tendrils looked fierce and powerful. He stepped closer to Edar, who was still keeping that vine seedling growing, the many whips weaving and bending to his will.

“What have you planned Brother?” Phoenix spoke from his perch on the final head, even as Hydra growled and hissed under him. His tails whipped back and forth angrily, but between the rocks partially covering his body and the hold Phoenix had on him, he wasn't going far.

“Hold the vines Edar.” The dragon spoke calmly, ignoring his brother in favor of threading the water along the vines, covering them completely and enabling him to use them as if they were his own. It was quite clever, really, if Usopp had taken the time to stop blubbering to notice on his own. A sharp elbow to the ribs from Perona got his attention though and he sniffled as he picked his head up out of his hands.

Moving back a pace and whipping the water covered vines about in the air, Zoro finally addressed his older brother. “This will allow me to tether him down while Edar shifts the rock to build a small structure quickly so he will be able to move us all to that location we discussed Phoenix.”

As he spoke, Zoro moved once more, the water vines striking out to several points across Hydra's body at once. The amount of concentration the dragon must have been putting in to control that much water at once was incredible. Zoro seemed to block out all commotion once he had finished speaking, focusing solely on how he wanted the vines to cross over his brother and bind him in place. It wouldn't hold him forever and the dragon seemed to understand this as he looked over to the earth elemental and jerked his head in a nod at him, silently asking him to start creating that barrier that he spoke of.

“I am of no help to you at this juncture.” The Blue landed next to Zoro, returning to his human form and crossed his arms. “I'm glad I thought of bringing the Shadows.”

“At the cost of Perona.” Zoro bared his fangs at his older brother. Usopp had to wonder what exactly that comment meant, but from the way the pink haired girl sucked in a breath, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

“She survived and overcame him just as you said she would.” Phoenix spoke calmly, not in the slightest phased by the younger dragon. Zoro looked about ready to attack his older brother and the gardener could just picture him flicking his tail about angrily. You could do a lot of things around Zoro, but putting any one of his friends in true danger was not one of them. Especially Perona. The relationship those two had went far back, to a time when Perona was very small. “Your faith and trust in the girl was justified.”

Roronoa simply grunted at his brother with a nod, his focus on how to keep the water vines wrapped around Hydra’s feet and necks as to keep their little brother immobile. Edar set the remaining part of the vines down carefully as Zoro's feet, walking a few paces away before he dropped into a low stance.

Usopp watched in wonder as the Shadow effortlessly moved and shaped the stone to his liking, building a wall that rose up above them, blocking the dying battle out around them on three sides. He left the area where they all stood open, as well as the ceiling before moving back to Zoro's side and retrieving his vines once more.

This time, when Edar touched them, an energy seemed to surge through them and all the vines tightened along their points across Hydra's body. With a low spoken word all the vines seemed to grow even more, twining and wrapping around themselves and spreading out across the dragon's body. Each vine seemed to come alive, wanting and willing to abide by the command given to them by the Shadow of Earth.

Hydra growled low, the eyes of the heads they could see focused on Edar. One narrowed dangerously and Usopp was actually a little afraid what would happen if he broke free. It was clear the dragon was upset at his Shadow, the betrayal obvious on his features.

“Can we keep him?” Usopp leaned over to whisper in Perona's ear. The girl snorted back a laugh and shook her head. “Why not? This would make growing things so much easier at home.”

The head closest to them then turned slightly, fighting against the water and vines that held it down. A low growl vibrated along the ground as Hydra seemed to lock onto Zoro and Phoenix. He parted his jaws just barely, just enough to get the words out. “ ** _We could have commanded them all, brothers._** ”

“ _ **Jealousy makes one hate**_ ,” Phoenix stated calmly, watching with cold dark eyes as his little brother and the elemental finalized the bindings holding what had once been the Earthen Yellow. “ _ **Revenge makes one evil**_.”

“You can not think to keep me.” Hydra growled out threateningly, clicking his jaws as he did so. “You can not trap me within my own element.” The vines snaked down towards the dirt, taking hold and growing roots. Pab snapped the pure water whips overhead, raining droplets of water to the dry dirt and the vines soaked up the water hungrily. Watching the three of them work flawlessly together was amazing, and despite it all, Usopp was glad he was able to witness such a thing. It wasn't everyday one got to see elemental masters at work.

“You are wrong there, Little Brother,” The Blue spoke, his tone dangerous. Usopp could hear the tension in the vines as they tightened and could see the feral grin on Zoro's face as he closed a hand, no doubt the tendrils of water tightening as well. “We intend to keep your element away from you completely.”

With a low chuckle, Roronoa looked over his shoulder and inhaled deeply. “Sabo! Get your ass over here!”


	38. Book Three: Onyx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **text that is in bold and italic is the characters speaking in draconic, translated so the reader can follow along.

Sabo was insane. There really wasn't much else to it. The fucking fire elemental apparently rather enjoyed fighting and was laughing, no, more like cackling, as he and Koala easily took care of the remaining enemies. He almost seemed to float, jumping from enemy to enemy, striking cleanly and swiftly with his bo staff. Fire blazed all around him and Sanji could feel the runes on his arm tingle with energy. Being this close to the elemental, and them both using their shared abilities, was refueling the blond's own energy as well.

Sanji was helping too, bounding from one enemy to the next, a well placed kick making the Shade, or whatever they were called, explode into smoke and light with a howl of fear and rage. It was pretty exhilarating, that was for sure, but the chef also didn't want to spend all his time fighting. He was a chef first, not a warrior. Same couldn't have been said for the others though.

Koala rose above them, casting her strange fire spell once more, the small specks of glowing ash fluttering to the ground. Most actually made it to the surface, where they winked out of existence like dying stars, but the ones that did land on their foes were quite the sight. More brilliant flashes of fire, shrieks of death and yelps of pain from the Mastiffs. Even though they seemed to be immune to Sanji and Sabo's fire, needing physical attacks to take them down, even those mutts of darkness didn't go unscathed from Fae magic.

Man, did Sanji have a lot to learn.

Law was yelling at Luffy as the healer tried to get the golem to stand still long enough to heal a particular nasty bite to his shoulder, but the weird creature was having none of it. Giving up, Law threw his hands in the air and pushed Luffy away, grumbling about how he'd deal with him later.

“Come here Sanji-ya!”

“What? Gah!” Law grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled Sanji out of his kick as he fell to a heap on the ground. “The fuck Law?!”

“Are you hurt? Let me heal you.” The dark haired doctor frowned down at him from where the blond now lay sprawled on the dirt floor.

“Well if I wasn't, I am now!” Sanji snapped as he climbed to his feet. “You just don't grab a guy out of an attack like that!”

Sabo landed next to them both with a laugh and a rush of fire. “Leave him alone Law, it's his first fight! I remember mine...it was glorious! Portgas was there and so were a ton of elementals! There was fire everywhere!” The blond grinned wickedly from under his hat and twirled his staff in the air.

“Yes, yes...very amusing.” Rolling his eyes, the doctor moved from Sanji to Sabo. The elemental smacked the other man's hands away from him, glaring at him. “I really don't know why I try to bother during fights, it's not like being able to be completely healed of all wounds during a battle isn't helpful!”

“It's the point of it Law!” Sabo yelled after him as the man turned and walked away. “To be able to say you fought on your own!”

“Better to be alive Sabo-ya!” The doctor yelled back to them, flipping them both off before he made his way across the battle ground towards Master Mihawk.

“What's his problem, huh Sanji?” Chuckling lowly, the elemental turned to the chef. “How you holding up, seriously though? This has to be quite the overwhelming experience for you, no?”

“Something like that.” Sanji replied, nodding his head in agreement. Overwhelming wasn't the word for it. “I think I have seen more and learned more about the veil world today than I have in the last six months!”

“Roronoa has never been a good teacher. Well, in that aspect. He's more about action and experience than books and words. Robin told me how you picked up on your sight as soon as he showed himself to you.”

“Getting stepped on by a fucking dragon kinda does that to you Sabo!” Sanji lashed out as a stray shade rose up before them, growling out the words. “How many more of these things are there?”

“Most are retreating.”

“Ah, Koala, darling,” Sabo grinned at the fae as she landed next to them, taking off his hat in a slight bow. “Nicely done, as always.”

“Thanks!” With a flick of her wings, she smirked at them both. “You fight well Sanji.”

“Thank you my dear!” The chef felt the flush run over his cheeks as he bobbed his head in a nod. “Where would they retreat too?”

“Who knows? Most shadow creatures like these are only loyal because they are forced into it. Now that Hydra seems to be down for the count, they will go back to what they were doing before hand.” Sabo shrugged, letting his fires die away as he rested his staff on his shoulder. “They are easy to hunt, I'm not too terribly worried.”

“You hunt them?” Sanji turned from watching a Shade flee through the hole in the wall to the other blond as he nodded.

Opening his mouth to speak, all three jerked a little when it was Zoro's voice that rang out, calling for Sabo across the cavern. “Oh, that's us. Come on Sanji, you come too!”

“What am I going to do?!” The blond paled as the elemental grabbed his arm and prepared to jump. Koala effortlessly moved into the air once more, rushing off ahead of them in a flurry of wings and fire. She really was something else. An amazing thing of beauty to watch. Sabo raised an eyebrow as he watched Sanji watch the fae fly off.

“You, her and I are the only one's who can truly fight these things. If Zoro needs me, he's gonna need you too.” Sabo's tone was deadly serious and Sanji felt his entire body slump slightly.

“Zoro doesn't need me for anything other than feeding him it seems.” He scoffed at the elemental, but all Sabo did was tighten his grip and pull him closer. The elemental's grip on his upper arm was painful as Sanji turned to look at him.

“You do know it was Zoro who was so eager to get here right? That it was him that insisted we rush in here without a plan to find you and make sure you were okay?” The other man narrowed his black eyes at the chef and all Sanji could do was shake his head. Zoro had been the one who wanted to come save him? Well, the others did as well, but Zoro had been at the front of it?

Without another word, Sabo leapt into the air, dragging Sanji along with him. It was almost like flying, if you were flying in a two person plane that was on fire and the pilot was a maniacal madman. He shut his eyes and grabbed at the fire elemental's jacket, praying he would survive the fall to the ground.

Sanji could feel when they reached the peak of the jump, the slightly weightless feeling of floating hitting him as Sabo told him to open his eyes. Carefully he did so as they began their decent, catching sight of Luffy, Law and Mihawk standing to the far side of the cavern. The golem was waving and jumping in the air, while Law and Mihawk had arms crossed and simply watched them. Both men seemed unimpressed by the goings on currently.

The fight that had ensued seemed to be over now and Sanji moved his gaze from Law to where Sabo's fall was taking them. From up here Hydra looked smaller than he was, body not moving except from the rise and fall of what appeared to be labored breathing.

The other two dragons stood in front of one of the heads, along with Pab and Edar. Perona and Usopp were standing a few feet away on top of a rock. The entire area seemed to be separate from the rest of the cavern now, a darkness marking a jagged line around where they all stood.

From here Sanji could see what appeared to be ropes littering the black dragon's body, tying and tethering him down so he was unable to move. Blinking, feeling the bite of rushing air as they fell, the blond realized they weren't ropes at all.

So that was the game plan...Sanji smirked as the two landed, it jarring his knees and making him stumble a few paces towards Zoro and the rest. That clever water newt, using Hydra's own element against him. That's why he had needed Edar. Zoro reached a hand out, grabbing at Sanji's shirt to keep him from falling face first into the dirt and hauled him back to a standing position next to him.

"Ah, good. Sabo, we are ready to go. I need you to keep the area lit." Sanji listened to the words come from the drake's mouth, each one calm and steady, despite keeping his attention focused on his brother in front of him. Hydra was attempting to test his bonds, to see if he could break them or not, but it didn't seem to be working very well.

A low growl vibrated against the ground as several red eyes snapped over to the fire elemental. “You're no Shadow,” Hydra hissed out at Sabo, but the elemental simply huffed and rolled his eyes. “What can you possibly do to me?”

“I'm not here for you,” Sabo spoke lowly. Sanji could feel the anger building in the elemental, their link spurring his own emotions on and the blond suddenly wanted to strike out at the dragon in the worst of ways. He'd done so much to all of them, both before and after he's come to the mansion. “But you're right. I'm no Shadow, though I would have liked to meet him. I am a Master however and that will be more than enough for what it is Roronoa will have me do.”

The black dragon chuckled lowly, inhaling deeply through his nostrils and parting his mouth to speak once more. Zoro growled himself, snapping a hand into a fist and Sanji could hear the strain on the vines that encircled his muzzle growing tighter. “That's enough outta you Hydra.” The Green scolded, snapping his attention over to Sanji at this point. “Cook, Sabo is going to need to concentrate on the spell he and Edar are going to work. I need you to take down anything if my brother does happen to call his minions of darkness while we are binding him.”

“Gotcha.” Sanji nodded and took a step back to give himself more room to see during this entire thing. He still wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but Zoro had given him something to do. A task he was fully capable of and that was enough for the chef right now.

“We should move him first.” Edar spoke up, coming to stand next to them, his small balls of sand shifting and turning around him lightly.

Zoro grunted with a nod. “Koala, throw up a light spell...Sabo, you need to conserve your energy for this spell.”

“Right,” the elemental nodded.

“Zoro!” Perona's voice cut through the air and she was instantly there, pushing Sanji aside as she got into the dragon's space. Throwing her arms around him, the pink haired girl buried her face in his chest. “Be careful.”

“Perona...” the salamander trailed off with a huff and a roll of his eyes. Bringing one arm up to hug her back, he then pulled her away by the back of her shirt. “I will be fine, you know that.” She nodded but didn't say anything, biting at her lip instead. “You go with Usopp and Mihawk. I need you to look after the marimo while the cook and I are away.”

“O-okay,” Giving Zoro another nod, she took a step back, reaching out for the faun as he drew near to gather her up and take her back across the cavern.

Sanji met Usopp's eyes as the faun dropped a reassuring hand to his shoulder, squeezing gently as they walked passed. The blond reached up to grasp at his arm and gave him a sharp nod before the two broke apart and the chef turned his attention back to the goings on in front of him.

Something bright caught his eye and Sanji looked over to see what he could only describe as a wisp floating near Zoro and Phoenix. The little orange and blue fire bobbed in the air easily between the dragons, not even reacting when the older dragon reached a hand out to poke at it curiously. “Fae magic,” he commented to no one in particular but Zoro hummed back at his brother just the same.

Several more appeared and fanned out over the dragon and the group, each one moving to a certain spot before stopping to float in the air quietly. Sanji reached out towards one as it moved in front of him, surprised when it didn't seem to give off any heat at all. “It's a light spell,” Sabo was saying in his ear. “A very basic fae spell that they use to light halls and corridors in their own homes.”

“Edar.” Zoro spoke the Earth Shadow's name. Without even answering, the elemental shifted in his stance, dragging his hands through the air as he did so. The ground underneath them all began to shake, then it moved, jolting them all and making them lose their balance.

The blond caught himself, watching in pure amazement as the Shadow's eyes began to glow red slightly, the sheer effort of what he was doing clear on his features and in his movements. How strong were these guys anyways? And were all the dragons stronger still? Zoro seemed to be effortlessly holding the water around those vines and thus Hydra, keeping him easily in place. There was barely a hint of strain to his voice as he talked and spoke to them all. Hell, he'd even hugged Perona! Granted with only one arm, but still....Edar was using both his and there was an obvious effort there from it.

Maybe that was the difference between dragon and Shadow. Maybe despite how strong they were, the dragons were still needed to control the elements themselves. Zoro had said at one point that he was water, that his control over it was beyond anything imaginable. Sanji wanted to see that power some day, maybe once things calmed down and the threat of his little brother had gone.

Sanji didn't notice they were moving till the light from the wisp seemed to glow brighter. Looking up, the blond could see the roof of the cavern high above them and it seemed to Sanji that he was sinking deeper away from it. What the hell was going on and where in the hell were they taking Hydra anyways?

“Soon, Brother,” Zoro hummed lowly, but to which one he spoke, it remained unclear.

“Send more wisps above us Fae,” Edar spoke harshly, but not from anger, the strain on his body clear in his words. Koala did so wordlessly and Sanji watched as several more little balls of fire sprang to life to rise towards the opening that was getting farther and farther from them.

The ground under their feet shuddered and came to a halt. Edar planted a foot and moved his other, shifting his stance once more and raising both arms overhead, hands closed into fists. In a single fluid motion he moved both his arms to arc down to his right side while above them the open hole seemed to close over, locking them below ground in an inclosed tomb of rock and dirt. The wisps flared even brighter with a single word from the fae.

Sanji swallowed. No one moved at all. This couldn't be it could it? This seemed like a lot of work for them to just bury Hydra underground here. Sucking in a breath, he looked over to Zoro, who's gold eye was trained on Hydra in front of him. Sanji wondered if the two brothers were talking telepathically to one another or if the water lizard was just stuck in his own head. He'd done that a time or two while out at his pool.

What seemed like an hour went by but it couldn't have been more than maybe thirty seconds before Pab slammed a hand onto the dragon's shoulder. “ _ **Roronoa, we need to go**_.”

The Green dragon jerked as if startled and looked over at his Shadow. “Yes. Pab, you and my brother are up next.”

 


	39. Book Three: Onyx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **text that is in bold and italic is the characters speaking in draconic, translated so the reader can follow along.

“You do know,” Phoenix started, taking a step back from his younger brother and raising his arms in the air. “This will be one of the only times I take orders from you  _ Little Brother.” _

“Ugh...” Zoro rolled his eye at his brother and clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Just do it. Pab and I are the only ones who would be able to survive the pressure of the water.”

“Very well.” The older dragon stepped back into his own stance, even as Pab started babbling at him and making his own weird gestures. The two conversed in that weird language for a moment before Sanji felt a tug to his hair and clothing. Taking a look around, he noticed it wasn't just him being affected. In fact about the only thing that wasn't was Hydra and that was simply because he couldn't move. His eyes were closed right now, the large dragon's breathing even, almost as if he were asleep. The chef knew he wasn't, but a part of him hoped that Hydra really was.

“What's going on?” Sanji asked Sabo as the chef shifted his feet to steady his balance a little more. He dragged his eyes away from the youngest of brothers to meet the black eyes of the elemental. The wind that had started up wasn't overly strong but it still tugged at your hair, making Sanji run his fingers through it in an attempt to keep it from his eyes.

“Do I look like I speak dragon?” The elemental shrugged. “Who knows, just go with it. Zoro isn't going to do anything that will harm us. Well not intentionally at any rate.” Sabo grinned at Sanji with a laugh. “He may be crazy but he has nothing but good vibes, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know.” Sanji pursed his lips in a small frown, but had to agree. Despite everything, it hadn't been Zoro who had tried to hurt him. He'd gotten hurt, but that was all during trying to teach him, he knew that much now.

“Edar.” Zoro looked over his shoulder at the Earth Shadow, who nodded sharply in reply. Sanji watched as the red of his eyes seemed to glow once more and it felt like the entire structure they stood on shifted again. Before them the rocks and dirt seemed to open up, creating a path for them to travel along. Behind them it seemed to close after they passed, amazing Sanji at the sheer power these Shadows held.

“Yth re trelk. Si shilta kiwieg wer mirt di wer qumadosfan.” Pab grinned at Zoro, raising his arms in the air once more. He and the eldest dragon fell into some sort of combined rhythm. Water began to seep through the floor and down the wall, creating a thin layer at their feet.

No one seemed to pay it any attention, but Sanji took a step back, paling as he looked over towards the shitty water newt. Zoro was still keeping his gaze locked on his little brother, but Sanji really didn't care about the other dragon right now. “Zoro!” He started, disregarding the note of panic he felt made its way through his voice. “What is going on?”

“Relax Cook,” the Green replied calmly. There was no hate or mocking to his tone, but some sort of understanding. “It's okay. Pab has it under control, you're safe.”

“That doesn't explain...” He was cut off as Sabo smacked a hand over his mouth.

“Look.” The fire elemental tipped his head back and Sanji followed along. While he was preoccupied with the dragon, they must have broken out of the caverns they were traveling in. Now they were out in the open water with only the sphere of air Phoenix was providing keeping them from their deaths.

Sanji could tell they were deep, the waters black and murky, illuminated by Koala's wisps and nothing more. Sabo pulled his hands away as the chef gasped, the sheer wonder of it making him forget about his irritation at the water lizard in the first place.

Turning, he stepped towards the wall of water, reaching out to touch it. “I don't suggest it.” Phoenix spoke, his tone as rude as always. The chef always got the impression that the older dragon didn't like humans much, deciding it may have just been better that way.

Edar was yelling at Pab now as well, the two Shadows chattering back and forth as they seemed to sink deeper into the depths of the water. “Are we in the ocean?” Sanji asked, pulling his hand back and looking over to Zoro once more. The green dragon simply nodded with a grunt. “We must be really deep then.” He commented, turning back to watch the waters as they moved along.

Sanji had no idea where they were going or what exactly they were going to do once they got there but this was amazing just the same. To be this deep in the ocean without the fear of being killed was incredible! Fish darted in and out of the light, weird shapes and shining scales. Did Zoro come this deep when he went out for his swims? Was this why he always smelled so strongly of the ocean? How far from the manor were they? Did Master Mihawk know where they were? Did Zoro even care?

“How far down are we going to go?” Honestly Sanji was more speaking out loud to himself than he was to anyone in particular, but Sabo chuckled next to him and behind him he could hear Zoro scoff at him.

“There is a cave,” the dragon started and Sanji turned to the shitty bastard as he smirked at Hydra. The black dragon eased open an eye, bright and red, pin pointed on Zoro as he spoke. “Deep down. I found it once by chance when I was chasing some fish. No one will find you there and you will not be able to hurt anyone anymore.”

“You can't hold me forever Roronoa.” Hydra hissed out between his bonds. “I will find a way.”

“And if you do,” Phoenix spoke up, a low growl to his voice. “We will be there to stop you. You have caused more damage than I was aware. Your actions are unacceptable.”

“The world will forget about you.” Zoro snarled out, closing a hand and Sanji could hear the creek of the vines around the black dragon's body as they tightened. “I will make sure they forget about you. Your creatures of darkness will become nothing more than awful memories. I will hunt them down and destroy them.”

“So will I.” Sabo stepped passed Sanji, moving to Zoro's side. “You killed my mentor, your own brother. I will never forgive that and I will spend the rest of my days destroying any sign that showed you walked these lands.”

“Were you there Elemental?” Hydra laughed, the vibration of it moving across the ground, skittering small rocks as it went. “Did you see how he howled in pain when I drew blood? How he fought but couldn't see? Hissed blindly into the night when I took his sight, his flames unable to save him.” The red eye closed for a moment as the black dragon hummed happily. “Just like you Roronoa, although I thought you were dead.”

“Yeah, well I wasn't.” With a flick of his wrist, he tightened the vines around the muzzles of his brother's mouths once more. “No more outta you. You've done enough damage. Dredged up enough painful memories. The only reason I don't rip your throat out with my teeth is because I am better than you.” Hydra chuckled again, clearly pleased with himself, but didn't speak.

“Roronoa,” Pab started, his voice weirdly low. “ ** _Where is the cave?_** ”

The dragon looked around, but shook his head. “I can't tell from in here.” Taking a deep breath, the green closed his eye, muttering lowly to himself. Everything seemed to still for a moment and Sabo took a step away from him once more. Zoro's eye was glowing brightly when he opened it, dropping his arms to the side.

Turning towards where Sanji was standing the bastard walked right to him. His eye faded back to the gold and Sanji met the dragon's eye, finally getting a moment to look at it. The iris was solid gold, lacking any type of pupil and the chef had to admit, even if to himself, it looked weird, but it must have always been like that. There just would have been no way to tell with it being white before hand. “Ya gonna make it Cook, you look a little pale.” Zoro asked and if Sanji had taken the time to listen, he would have known the drake was asking out of true concern for him.

“I always look this pale fucker,” he snapped back. It was reflex, he couldn't help it.

Zoro grinned at him anyways. “Good. You're still an asshole.” Raising a hand, he placed it on the chef's shoulder, pushing him back. “Step back.”

He did so wordlessly, eyes wide as Zoro shifted into his true form, body and tail curling around himself in the space. The light of the wisps made his scales shine, the gold of his eye really standing out against the green scales and black tracks of his scars. He twisted his head around to look at his Shadow, the end of his tail flicking randomly. “I can guide you from the water.”

The Shadow of Water nodded, eyes following Zoro as the dragon jumped through the wall of water out into the ocean. Sanji sucked in a breath, not sure if the wall would hold or not. He was pretty sure anything the size of a dragon crashing through it would break, but it didn't. Not even a drop of water seemed to get through for that matter. Guess that was dragon elemental abilities for ya.

The chef stepped toward the wall again, mindful not to touch it, watching the Green on the other side. Zoro seemed to float in the water, his mane and the tuft at his tail fanning out in the dark water. He looked black, except where the light of the Fae spell flashed across his scales, little bubbles streaming from his nostrils. With a flick of his tail, the shitty bastard shot through the water, farther away and deeper than they already were.

Sanji tried to follow him, but lost him almost instantly, the dragon's long and sleek form making him glide about easily. Pab shifted his feet, turning as he swung one arm out toward the direction Zoro had swum off in. Edar followed suit and the entire structure they were standing on seemed to shudder slightly before sinking deeper into the darkness of the ocean.

“I see him!” Edar pointed off to his right and Sanji caught a flash of green in the dim light. Under their feet the rocks rumbled once more and there was a sudden drop. Sanji almost lost his balance, as well as Sabo, but the two recovered easily enough. “Sorry,” The Earth Shadow muttered. “We had to let go of the rock while we changed, we aren't seamlessly balanced yet.”

“Changed?” Furrowing his brows, Sanji was sure everyone was starting to get sick of his questions by now, but he had no idea what was going on. It was Sabo to his rescue once more, explaining how elementals could learn the habits of one another so they could shift from one taking control of the elements to the other without any notice. It was harder to do between different elements, such as water and earth in this case. “But do able,” the chef nodded in understanding as the darkened form of Zoro began to loom closer.

The dragon seemed to be standing, but it was too dark to really tell, his long whiskers streaming about in the water as he watched. The glow to his eye was the only way Sanji could really see where he was, the gold orb bright against the black of the water.

“Roronoa says this cavern starts here and actually moves up to an open area.” Phoenix spoke lowly, his voice level and calm. “We just need to follow him and he will guide us.”

“ ** _Yes._** ” Pab nodded sharply, inhaling deeply. Sanji watched his eyes begin to glow, the Shadow of Water taking a couple steps toward the edge of the platform. “ ** _I can feel Roronoa_**.”

“Shouldn't be long now.” Koala finally spoke and the chef jumped at her words. He'd almost forgotten she was even there, she'd been so quiet all this time. “It's so peaceful down here.”

“That is my brother's intentions.” The older dragon remained calm, standing off to the side where he could keep an eye on Hydra and keep the air spell he was casting active easier. Sanji wished he understood more of this. Everything was so confusing and he was always asking what must have seemed like stupid questions.

A quiet filled the air as everyone seemed to watch where they were headed. Zoro's form became clearer as they drew closer to him and once the dragon deemed them close enough, he turned and with a snap of his tail vanished into the cavern, clearly expecting them to follow.

A low chuckle from Hydra broke the surreal calm. The sound of a vine snapping made Sanji and the rest whip around to face him. “Holy shit!” The chef yelped, watching as the jaw of the closest head opened with a snarl. A low growl vibrated across the rock under their feet as once more the black dragon tried to break free.

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. It was like slow motion to Sanji. Edar swore loudly, torn on what to do or how to react. Did he try to fight the dragon, or did he try to continue to maintain his hold on the earth they all stood on. Phoenix hissed, baring fangs at the black dragon, but he didn't move either. Him of all of them would have been the worst. Had he stopped that spell, they all would be crushed to death by the weight of the water.

There was another snap and Sanji actually saw the arc of the broken vine through the air, eyes going wide at the fact it was one that was trapping a tail to the earth. Black claws dug into the rock as the tail flicked out, snuffing one of Koala's little light wisps.

“No, no, no!” Sabo yelled out, grip tight on his bo staff. “Not now!”

“I will take you with me!” Hydra snarled, snapping his jaws and jerking against the bonds holding him. “I will kill you all!”

“Pab! Edar!” The Blue yelled out. “Get him under control!”

Like it was an easy thing to do. The two Shadows moved quickly though and once more there was jerk in the movement of the earth on which they stood as the two changed things around. Koala was already in the process of creating more fae fire, her low chanting coming from behind Sabo where he had stepped in front of her.

Sanji saw it first, from the corner of his eye. With in the wild flailing of Hydra's tail was a pit of shadow, deep and black. The chef hadn't heard the black dragon speak a spell, but maybe he didn't need one. Or maybe he didn't need speak it out loud like his brothers didn't seem to need to, but from the forming portal moved a Shade, two more following the first quickly behind it.

Oh hell no! Sanji may not have fully understood what was going on in this fuck show he'd fallen into but he did understand that those fucks were not what they needed right now. Shifting his balance back, he willed his chakras to open, feeling the energy flow through him like the very fire he was about to bring to life.

Sabo raised an eyebrow at him in question, but the blond simply jerked his head toward where the three creatures lurked in the shadow cast by Hydra's tail. The fire elemental sucked in a breath and went to move to attack, but Sanji grabbed him by the arm and shook his head. “Zoro said you need to help with that other spell. You can't afford to waste your energy on this shit. I got it.”

Around them time seemed to speed up once more as things erupted into chaos. Pab was yelling something no one understood, Phoenix was still hissing at his brother in between bitten out orders to Edar who was quickly getting Hydra under bonds once more, the vines once more working with the earthen elemental's commands.

The other blond grinned at him and with how close they were to one another, it took no effort at all for Sanji to create his flames. The reds and oranges burst to life against his calves, the energy surging through his legs as he smirked back at his teacher. This wasn't going to take but a fucking second. And he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

 


	40. Book Three: Onyx

The space wasn't really that big and Sanji didn't even think twice about the fact that he was moving toward the flailing tail that could easily strike him and throw him into the crushing depths of the water around them. He was more focused on the Shade that lurched toward him and Koala, the swirling smoke like blackness of the creature his focal point.

This would be easy. The moment he touched the thing, it would explode into a bright white fire and scream in pain as it disintegrated into nothingness. For Sanji, the creature was a simple thing to kill and it gave him a purpose in a time where he was feeling rather useless.

The first Shade met his heel and sure enough, with a strangled hiss was gone in a flash of brilliant flames before his foot even hit the dirt. The chef kept moving though, dropping into a handstand as he took out the second, righting himself back on his feet as he heard a snarl and a hiss from Hydra. The red eye was locked on him now, narrowing in anger. The blond swallowed thickly, taking a step back out of sheer fear, even though he could see the vines wrapping around his muzzle once more. It wasn't even a conscious thing as Sanji did it, his body simply remembering their fight from before and how utterly overpowered Hydra had been.

A scream that sounded like a kettle whistle met his ears and Sanji turned just in time for the last Shade to strike out, slashing at his chest. Twisting quickly, the creature still managed to dig claws into his shoulder, but he swung around and ended the thing's miserable life with a well placed kick. Hand snapping to his torn shirt, Sanji pulled his hand away covered in blood, a sharp sting coming from the wound.

“You mean nothing to my brother now...a human pawn who's used up his worth. He will push you aside and forget you as he has every other before you.” Hydra laughed, the vibrations rumbling through Sanji's feet as he jerked his head up to stare at him wide eyed. From the edge of his vision he could see the black dragon's tail pull back, sweeping across the stone in preparation to strike. Sanji could hear Sabo and Koala yelling at him, but their words didn't register as he watched the appendage bow back for an attack. That son-of-a-bitch was going to try to kill him.

Hydra was actually going to try to hit the chef with his tail. “Yet you still defy me and come to his aid. Pathetic!” Sanji knew he should be moving, but he just watched, eyes narrowed at why such a thing was even happening to him in the first place. It was a rather surreal thought and one he really didn't have time to deal with right now. His flames died away just as Hydra's tail started to whip forward. The blond moved, jumping to the side and dodging the strike at the last second. He could feel the rush of air on the back of his neck at the dragon's tail passed him.

“The fuck is wrong with you?!” Sabo was yelling in his face as the elemental hauled Sanji to his feet. The dragon growled and his tail snapped back once more, cutting through the wall Phoenix was still maintaining, showering water droplets down over them. So the bubble could be broken then? This was not a good sign. Why Sanji chose to focus on that, he wasn't sure but he watched as the rain poured down to the earth, the hole closing.

There was a second explosion of water and Zoro was there once more. Still in his dragon form, he attacked Hydra, baring teeth and sinking claws into flesh. He grappled onto his brother's tail, red tracks from Zoro's claws forming under his feet. Compared to his younger brother, Zoro looked small in size, but he was fast, if not faster than Hydra. With a loud snap, the Green caught the end of his brother's tail, dropping to the ground where Edar then easily managed to tie it down with vines again. Roronoa snarled at the entire situation, golden eye glowing brightly in his anger.

“I...” Sanji started, tipping his head to the side to look at the other blond, his black eyes wide and full of worry. Shaking his head, Sanji brought his hand to his shoulder once more, hissing at the stinging pain. “I got hit.” He tried again, his hand coming from his shoulder with more blood than before. Suddenly he could feel the warmth of his blood through his shirt, could feel it running down his arm to drop off the fingertips of his injured arm.

“Shit.” The fire elemental cursed under his breath. His eyes traveled to Phoenix, who wasn't paying them any attention. The older Blue focused on how his brother was securing Hydra once more. “How bad is it?” The elemental raised a hand to tug at Sanji's shirt collar and try to get a better glance at the wound.

“M'okay,” Sanji took a step back, furrowing his brows and shaking his head. “Really.”

“The second we get a chance, you have Phoenix look at that.” It wasn't a suggestion and Sanji just nodded dumbly at Sabo. He hadn't thought he'd get attacked like that by the Shade but it made perfectly good sense he supposed. Those creatures were fighting to their fullest potential just as he was.

“I can take it from here.” Zoro's deep baritone sounded close by, making Sanji try to find him. Already he was back in his human form, standing near Pab as the two of them mimicked one another's movements. “I know where we are going from this point onward.”

The Shadow nodded, but didn't stop in his flowing movements with the dragon. The drake growled low in his throat, turning to raise a questioning eyebrow at the earthen Shadow. “What happened?” he snarled and Sanji knew he was upset. The chef could tell the dragon was annoyed that his brother had once again gotten free and it was clear as he scowled off at nothing.

Behind the dragon, Edar was working with the vines, muttering to himself. How were they going keep the black dragon bound when he easily broke free just now? What was Zoro up to? “Roronoa,”The Shadow started as he moved to the dragon's side. “With Hydra's loss of the earth, I am not as strong as I should be. As I have been.”

“I know.” The dragon didn't give it a second thought. Several more wisps flared to life, the entire place brighter than it was before as they moved to their places about the space. They entered the mouth of the cavern as he spoke, the effort of manipulating a giant chunk of rock clear on Zoro's face. Sanji knew he wasn't moving the rock itself, but the water around and in it. Same as he had done with the vines before. “I shouldn't have asked you to move the rocks either. Pab should have done as I am now. I need you to work with Sabo to create that spell.”

“Roronoa,” Phoenix spoke calmly, his monotone pitch somehow making everything calm in the area. Zoro grunted at him, twisting to look at him from the corner of his eye. The Blue swept his arms out to the side, the wall of air vanishing. The wind that had been tugging at Sanji's hair died down like it had never been there in the first place. It exposed them to another cavern, devoid of any type of land but what they were standing on. “Will this be sufficient?”

“Yes.” The blind bastard nodded sharply, looking about the open cavern. “We are deep enough that if he even did manage to escape, the water would crush him.” They were above water level now, the older dragon's reasoning for ending his spell. The cave they were in wasn't nearly as large as the one they had been fighting in, but it was big enough for the black dragon, the wisps lighting everything easily. The added ones Koala made as a precaution helped to keep the shadows at bay. With a flick of her hand they spread out, moving higher and spacing out more, lighting every spot so no more portals leading to the darkness could form.

Hydra growled as claws dug into the rock, eyes watching intently. The cave here was more like a bubble of trapped air deep below the surface, maybe the remainder of an old volcano or some other weird land formation. Sanji was intrigued by what Zoro meant to do now. The water seemed to form a moat around where they were, enabling Zoro and Pab to have easy access to their element. Almost instantly, tendrils of water shot into the air, a low laugh coming from the Shadow of Water as he grinned, his look feral and eager.

“Edar, secure this rock so I can let it go.” The Green stood straight once more, tipping his head back to look at the wisps scattered about. “Koala, throw up a few more of those. I am not risking him pulling more darkness here; not with how easily it was in that last attack.”

Sabo immediately moved off towards the platform, Edar following. He paused to speak to the Blue and Sanji ground his teeth at the action. He was capable of taking care of himself, he didn’t need Sabo telling Phoenix he was hurt.

“I'm fine.” Sanji hissed as Phoenix turned to him, a calm look on his face. Around them, things were beginning to move and change once more. The rocks under their feet rumbled, a single path rising up out of the water and forming a smaller area closer to the wall. Several more rose up as well, anchoring the large piece of earth to the surrounding walls.

“Did one of those Shades attack you Cook?” The tone of the air dragon’s voice was simple, devoid of all criticism or mocking. Tipping his head to the side to get a better look at the injury, the action reminded Sanji of a bird who twisted its head out of curiosity.

“Yeah,” Swallowing the blond nodded as the older dragon looked at his shoulder. “I let it get too close to me.”

“Happens.” Shrugging, Phoenix pulled at his torn shirt carefully.

Zoro turned and headed toward where Sabo and Edar were talking. Sanji watched him go, eyes lidding as he felt a pang of hurt well up in him. Why did he feel like he'd let the salamander down some how? Yet, Hydra’s words rang through his head. The shitty salamander hadn’t even given a shit about Sanji being injured. Had he already tossed him aside? As he moved away, the chef saw grass begin to grow from the rock, spreading from a single trail that traveled back to where the Earth Shadow had his hand placed on the ground.

Sanji let his eyes trail over the grass as it grew thick and lush, seeing the vines grow stronger and thicker as well. It seemed to the blond that now that Edar was able to really focus his abilities once more, he could finally keep that hold of Hydra that had apparently been lacking. The water that had been around most of the vines dropped away, covering black scales and making them shine. He really was an amazing creature, despite being evil. All the dragons were impressive to look at in their own right.

Phoenix's hand swam into his vision, thumb pressing against Sanji's forehead. “Don't move; this won't take but a second.” The warmth from when the dragon healed him before spread through him and Sanji could feel his entire body regain its strength once more as the marks to his shoulder healed clean.

Taking his hands from him, the Blue crossed his arms and heaved an annoyed sigh. “Now we wait for whatever it is my brother has planned. He has never been straightforward with his plans, even when he should.”

“Well, go on,” Waving a hand toward where the three were standing, Phoenix looked down at Sanji. “Off with you. I could feel it in your energies. Go see what they are doing. I am sure I have everything under control here. Pab,” Completely dismissing the chef, the older dragon walked away to talk to Zoro's Shadow.

Sanji wasted no time jogging over to where the others were, being careful as he walked across the land bridge that Edar had made. He chanced a look down but all he could see was black water lapping at the edges of the bridge. Sabo turned to him as he approached with a grin. “Came to see how your element works huh?”

“I do kind of want to see how this will go.” Nodding Sanji grinned at the other blond. “If that's okay?”

“I don't care.” Rolling up his sleeves, the fire elemental wrung out his hands and flexed his fingers. “I didn't share my abilities with you for nothing after all. Edar. You know how this works right?”

“I assume so. I have never actually had to do this, but it shouldn't be too difficult to create a few black diamonds.” Rising back to his feet, his lines of sand swarmed around him once more. Holding up a hand, a smaller amount swirled into his palm creating a loosely formed orb of the fine sand. “Roronoa, how many of these do you need us to make?”

As he spoke, the Shadow of Earth closed the sand between his hands and slowly brought his palms together. He almost pressed them flat to one another, his eyes flaring red as he did so before he opened them once more, holding out a small brown looking ball in his palm.

“As many as you two can. I'm not sure if the Fae wisps will maintain their form once Koala leaves.” Tipping his head back, the dragon frowned at the burning fire above their heads.

“They will for a little while.” Sabo flexed his right hand, closing it into a fist and flexing the muscles in his forearm. Sanji watched, his own runes tingling down his arm as the fire elemental looked down at his arm. “Praeuro.”

Edar handed Sabo the small orb as a line of runes just like Sanji's flared to life on Sabo's arm. They were different than his own, appearing to be carved into the elemental's flesh with something sharp and pointed. The chef thought maybe a knife, but it would have had to be something crude and dull. Maybe it was something that Ace had done, marked the fire elemental with a claw tip perhaps?

As soon as the item exchanged hands, Edar made a second one, same as the first. After a moment the little brown ball in Sabo's palm started to turn black from the center out, the surface growing smooth and shiny as it went. The second it had completely changed, Sabo raised his left arm, flexing the same way and cupping his hand over the ball. This time as the line of runes flared to life on his arm, he spoke the word 'flagro' under his breath.

The Shadow handed a second little sand ball off to Zoro, who held it loosely in his hand as he watched the fire elemental. “He taught you some powerful spells didn't he?”

“Yeah,” Sabo gave a fleeting smile at Zoro's comment. “Ace was great.” Looking up at the dragon, the elemental flicked his eyes toward Sanji. “Hey, you wanna hold this for me in a sec?”

“Me?!” Sanji's jaw dropped as he looked at the now smoldering black ball in Sabo's hands. It looked way too hot to be touching bare handed and the last thing Sanji wanted to do was burn his hands. “Yeah right.”

“It won't hurt you, you have fire abilities. Now, Zoro on the other hand...” Trailing off, the elemental laughed as the dragon took a step back from it.

“I would only kill it.” Frowning, he sighed. “We don't have time for your games Sabo.”

“Okay okay,” Still chuckling, the elemental took a deep breath, both lines of runes on his arms flaring brightly. “Suffio.” As he spoke the single word, the little ball flared to life, bright blue and orange flames licking at his fingertips. “Here, cup your hands.”

Carefully Sanji did so, wincing slightly as Sabo placed the item into his hands. It was warm as the ball rested in his upturned palms, but it wasn't uncomfortable, like holding a warm mug of tea. Exhaling the breath he was holding, the chef relaxed, waiting for his next instructions. He looked up to Zoro, hoping the dragon would be able to give him some sort of direction. The flames flickered in his golden eye as he met Sanji's own. “Go take that to Koala. Have her replace that with one of her wisps. We will place these strategically to begin with and fill in as needed. All depending on how long these two can maintain themselves of course.”

“Okay,” Nodding sharply at the dragon, Sanji turned, his arm tingling the entire walk back across the bridge and past Phoenix to the fae. With a flick of her wings she took the flame, listening intently as Sanji repeated what had just been explained to him. Then she rose in the air as high as this cavern would allow, moving to the highest placed wisp in the cavern.

With the touch of a finger her little light blinked out and she replaced it with the spell Sabo and Edar had cast. The little thing bobbed in the air as she pulled her hands away, before it burned brighter, the little flames growing larger as the fae moved away from it. With a flip backwards, she dived for the ground coming to light next to Sanji lightly once more.

“Sanji!” Sabo's voice rang out once more and the blond raised an eyebrow as he turned to see what was going on. The elemental held another one of the little flames up, motioning for him to go over and take it. With a sigh, he started over, but Koala took off as well, beating him to it  and swooping off to place it at another point, following the path that the water newt directed her on.

Sanji came to stand between Sabo and Zoro, glancing between the two as the fire elemental made a third little flame and handed it to him to hold for Koala. At least he felt useful now, even if it felt like he was child once more, washing potatoes for his old man in the sink.


	41. Book Three: Onyx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **text that is in bold and italic is the characters speaking in draconic, translated so the reader can follow along.

Sanji pulled a drag off his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke as he let himself drop into the chair on the back porch. Pulling the other chair up to prop his feet up, he dropped his head back and groaned. Another long day down. Thankfully there weren't as many mouths to feed anymore. Bringing his cigarette to his lips, his cheeks hollowed as he pulled another drag into his mouth, exhaling the smoke out into a tight stream as he thought about the events of the last few days.

It had been a whirlwind that was for sure, getting out of that deep cave courtesy of Zoro and Phoenix and returning to the Manor. At the Blue's order, the two Shadows had stayed behind to keep watch on that black son-of-a-bitch, his echoing laugh and growled out words still ringing through the chef's head.  _ “You mean nothing to my brother now...a human pawn who's used up his worth. He will push you aside and forget you as he has every other before you.” _

That shitty lizard hadn't confirmed or denied Hydra's words, but the chef couldn't get them out of his head. The dwindling doubt that he meant nothing just being reformed once more. Grinding his cigarette butt between his teeth, Sanji frowned and closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the backyard fill his ears. The quiet sound of crickets and the new bell Usopp had put on Merry's collar almost lulling him into a half sleep state.

He'd never thought he'd be thankful to part from Sabo and if he really thought about it, Sanji really wasn't. Nor Luffy, but he was glad to see him gone The golem could eat like no other, that was for sure. Phoenix had made it quite clear he was done with them all and as soon as he saw fit, was gone, taking off into the evening sky like a cloud swept along in the wind. Sanji had to admit, he wasn't upset to see him go and it was kind of nice to be able to cook for eight once again.

Just being there, being involved and carrying those lights around for Sabo in that entire process had been very overwhelming. Now that he'd had time to come down and process the entire thing, Sanji really wasn't sure how he got through it. Yeah, he'd learned so much from being here the last several months, but still, humans didn't fight dragons and weird ass creatures of darkness. It just wasn't normal.

Of course he hadn't believed this shit could be real to begin with. He was slowly beginning to come to terms with the idea that the magical realm was in his life now and Sanji found he was going to enjoy his new abilities.

That still didn't mean he had to stay here though. He hadn't changed his mind about that. Sanji had just...put it off for a little longer. Maybe part of him wanted to see what would happen when things seemed to settle down, but so far it had just gone back to the way it was before Hydra had struck and the chef was quickly becoming frustrated with the lack of thanks he was getting around here.

Sitting back up he flexed his hand, looking to the spot where he knew his own magical abilities lay. Well, not in his arm, but that spell Sabo blessed him with had awakened what was naturally within him and made it stronger by doing so. And he was excited to see what new ways he could use his flames in daily life. Just as he was sure Law's chakra trainings could be good for something in his everyday routine now as well.

There was a splash in the pool, breaking the silence and Sanji got up, snuffing the last of his smoke in the bucket before Zoro could make it across the yard to sniff him out. Not that Sanji was avoiding the reptile at this point, but yeah, he kinda was.

Nothing had changed between the two of them. Zoro was still a stubborn asshole who couldn't be bothered to learn his name. He didn't even acknowledge Sanji for all that he did during the entire onslaught of fighting Hydra. Granted, he wasn't looking for the dragon to get down on his knees and worship him, but a simple, 'hey you did good' would have been great. Hell, Sanji would have taken that shitty bastard actually calling him by name.

The screen door banged loudly behind Sanji as he moved to the sink to wash his hands and start on the final prep for dinner. Everything was in the ovens or simmering on the stove, leaving the poor gardener's salad to make. Usopp, he would miss. And Merry as well, if he wanted to be honest. Along the way, he and the sheep had come to terms with one another.

“Hey,” Sanji looked up at the familiar voice, sighing in annoyance as Zoro ran a hand through his hair and water rained to his kitchen floor. “When's dinner?”

“Soon.” Sanji replied sharply, turning to retrieve his knife from the block it was housed in. He tried his best to ignore Zoro and ignore the pang of hurt that seemed to live inside him since they got back. “Don't go running off and disappearing.” The chef sneered, knowing his tone of voice was nasty and he couldn’t have cared less. Seriously, how hard was it to be thankful or grateful for...anything that Sanji had done for the shitty water newt?

“What's your problem?” Hands slammed onto the prep table and the chef snapped his head up to meet Zoro's one eyed glare. The golden eye was narrowed at him dangerously, the scars about his face twisted and pulled from his frown. “You're being a real jerk, even for you.”

“Get out of my kitchen and go wash up, you're getting your filthy pool water all over my floor.” Sanji snarled back at the dragon, making the beast curl his own lip in aggression as well. He didn't growl at Sanji, but he might as well have. The two stared at one another over the silver table for a few good seconds before the dragon scoffed and rolled his eye.

Zoro turned from Sanji, but purposefully flicked wet fingers at him, splattering water droplets all over his face. “Dammit Zoro!” Sanji snapped, slamming his knife on the cutting board and snatching up a towel. He tried to glare a hole in the back of the dragon's head as he laughed his way into the dining room. Him, he wouldn't miss. Okay, his attitude he wouldn't miss.

The last few minutes before dinner hit the table were always the busiest for Sanji, but he was glad to have it to himself, bringing everything out and setting each covered plate at the appropriate setting. Zoro was sitting at his end of the table, leaned back in his chair with hands folded across his bare chest.

Sanji watched him out of the corner of his eye as he set down Law and Usopp's meals. The dragon was watching his every move with a calm expression, thumbs tapping against one another as he did so. As the blond was walking around Master Mihawk's chair to set his dinner at his place, the dragon inhaled deeply. “Before we left the cavern,” The fucking salamander started cautiously, as if trying to gauge how Sanji would react. “Pab pulled me aside. Mentioned you.”

Just great, more people to think he was useless and not worth a damn. The blond glanced over to Zoro then, flicking his eyes from picking up Perona's plate to where the dragon was still sitting quietly. “Yeah? So?” Setting it down he shrugged, trying to pretend like he didn't care at all about what Zoro's Shadow could have possibly said that involved him.

Zoro waited until Sanji was picking up his own dinner and setting it down quietly on the wooden table. “ ** _I like him. He is a good fighter, with a strong heart and a brave soul. He is devoted to you and is not afraid to talk back. You need that._** ” The dragon smirked at him as he spoke. “That's what he said to me.”

“You know I have no idea what you just said. Stop being an asshole.” Sanji frowned as he set Robin and Franky's plates down at their spots. The dragon simply smiled at him, enjoying the fact he knew what had been said and the chef didn't.

“Pab never learned that was considered the common speech and my tongue actually has a lot of restraints to it, being as old as it is.” Sanji didn't know why now of all times Zoro was deciding that he required a history lesson on language, but the blond hummed as if he were listening and walked Zoro's tray of food down to him.

The shitty lizard watched him with a tilt of his head, eye traveling over Sanji as if looking for something. The blond felt his skin shiver with excitement as that feral grin landed on him once more. There was still a part of him that hoped that now they might be able to try something. Anything, Sanji just wanted to run his hands over that tanned skin and see where it would lead. His breath hitched in his throat, pulling him from his daydream as Zoro's hand snapped out to grab onto his wrist. The chef frowned. “Let go.”

“I tried to teach him.” The dragon flicked his eye down to their hands, but didn’t move in the slightest. “The new tongues, but he didn’t want to know.”

Sanji jerked in the shithead’s grip. He thought about kicking him, but that wouldn’t be the best of ideas here in the dining room with food set out. “Just let go, you shitty bastard.”

“You gonna make me? Hmm Cook?” The drake smirked at him, and Sanji could see the challenge swirling in his eye.

Sanji set his jaw before he snapped and said something that could really cause a fight to break out. The blond tried to pull free, but all the other man did was tighten his fingers. “Cut the shit Zoro. I’m not in the mood to play your petty games tonight.”

Zoro clicked his tongue and his grip remained tight, but not enough to hurt him, heat radiating off his fingers and seeping into Sanji's skin. Tipping his head back, his smile dropped into a slight scowl. “ ** _He holds great promise._** ” Then he let go and settled back into his chair, closing his eye.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Sanji barely resisted the urge to kick him when Zoro just shrugged. Instead he growled under his breath and shot the nightly text of dinner being done to everyone and sat in his seat.

Once he was settled, Zoro cracked open his eye, locating the blond and closing it once more. “I tend to agree with him though.”

Sanji didn't even bother to answer him, instead messing around with his phone till someone else came to talk to him. Everyone filed in and got seated, conversations striking up like any other night at dinner. Perona chattered with Law about dead things, Usopp almost threw up in his salad and Robin added in her own morbid opinions. Mihawk ignored everyone and Zoro spent his time picking apart a piece of bread for the ravens. Franky jumped from conversation to conversation even talking to Zoro about how he needed to drain the pool and they would have to find a place to keep his marimo until it was refilled.

When everyone was about done, Sanji cleared his throat and inhaled to speak. He'd been quiet most of the evening, trying to figure out exactly how it was he wanted to say what he had to say. In the end though, there really wasn't any easy way to do it, so he just came out with it. “I've decided I'm leaving.”

A hush fell over the table and all eyes turned to him. Perona dropped her fork, mouth open as she turned her head to look at him. “But you can't!” Usopp stood from the table, his curly hair bouncing from his quick movements.

“What brought on this decision Mister Black?” Calmly Mihawk picked up his wine glass, flicking his gaze over to Sanji. “And please, Usopp, do sit down and listen.”

The faun wordlessly dropped back into his chair.

Sanji could feel all eyes on him, boring into him as he looked around the table. Law gazed at him calmly like he had half expected the words, Usopp's were wide and his lip was quivering. The chef could feel Robin's tendrils snaking out toward him and Perona rudely poked him in the cheek. Franky quietly went back to his food and Zoro had once again leaned back in his chair, eye closed like he was asleep. Sanji knew he wasn't and it pissed him off that he was so dismissive of this news. Figured that the shitty bastard would be like that though.

“I just...” Sanji stopped and sighed, trying to collect his thoughts. “I came here to fill a culinary position. I never expected to be pulled into this world or basically the war you guys were having with Hydra. I didn't sign up for this and while I stayed to help, I can't keep doing this.”

“Very well,” Mihawk set his glass down and folded his hands on the edge of the table. “When did you plan on leaving?”

“Wait!” Usopp slammed a hand to the table turning towards Sanji and Mihawk. “That's it? That's the whole conversation? You are just gonna let him go? You are just gonna leave? After everything?!” The gardener's voice was pitched, his disapproval clear.

“What would you have me do Usopp? Chain him to the stove?” Mihawk turned his gaze on the faun, ignoring the snort of laughter from the dragon at the other end of the table.

“But you  _ can't!  _ Sanji! You fit in so well here! You just can't leave us!” Tears brimmed in his dark eyes and Sanji had to glance away, not wanting to see that pain on his friend's face. It wasn't that he didn't like the people that lived here, he just couldn't deal with the craziness of this life all the time.

“Usopp. That's enough!” Zoro's voice cut through the thickness in the air, a slight growl to his tone. He stood up, pushing himself away from the table and placing both hands flat on it. “Come with me. You and the help will be able to have a moment before he scurries away.” His mouth curled into a sneer as he spoke.

“But...” the faun started, looking from Zoro to Sanji then back to the dragon once more. The chef felt like shit about all of this, but he couldn't stay here just for the faun.

“I will ask you again, Mister Black. When do you plan on departing?” Swirling his wine in his glass, Master Mihawk pinned his gaze on the blond.

“M-most likely in the morning, if that's all right. After breakfast?”

“Breakfast?!” Usopp yelled into the room, slamming his hands on either side of his plate.

“Usopp.” Zoro growled out the gardener's name, making him flinch. Sanji bit at his lip as he watched, not liking the angry tone that the dragon had suddenly directed toward the other man. “Now.” Walking around the table, the water lizard slammed a hand against the kitchen door and stalked through it.

With one more sad look, tears brimming in his eyes, Usopp turned to Sanji. “Please don't leave without saying goodbye Sanji.”

“Don't make me tell you again!” Zoro's voice sounded back out to them from the kitchen. Sanji didn't see what that asshole's problem was anyways, not like he cared if Sanji came or went. Most likely the dragon was simply pissed off that he wouldn't have him at his beck and call anymore.

The chef watched as the gardener turned and left the dining room. No one else moved for a moment, but then Law inhaled deeply and pushed himself away from the table. “I will collect your medical files and have them ready for you in the morning.”

“Very good, Trafalgar.” Nodding, the manor owner closed his eyes with a nod, turning to Sanji once more. “I will expect your keys after breakfast Mister Black.” Setting down his wine glass, he stood, resting his fingertips lightly on the polished surface. “And I regret you’re leaving. I know I speak for everyone when I say we have come to enjoy your food immensely.” Without another word, he left as well, walking quietly across the carpet and disappearing back into the manor.

A thin tendril wrapped around Sanji's wrist and he looked down to Robin as she frowned at him. She didn't speak, but the librarian didn't have to. What could she possibly say when she already knew exactly why it was Sanji was leaving. It was hard to stay in a place where you felt unwanted and under-appreciated.

As soon as it seemed to touch him, the tendril vanished from him and Robin laid a hand on Franky's arm. “Shall we? I am tired.”

“Oh...okay Babe; yeah let's go.” Glancing at his wife, Franky stood from the table and took a deep breath. “I'd say one more night out playing poker, but I doubt Zoro seems up for that right now.”

“Yeah...” Sanji trailed off, not really sure what to say to that. He gave a half shrug as he heard the two of them walk toward the far door. “See you in the morning for coffee I guess.”

Looking back over his shoulder, the grounds keeper grinned. “Wouldn't miss it Bro!” Robin gave a small giggle at his words as the two stepped through the door and were gone.

That left Perona, who had been strangely quiet this entire time aside from poking him. Calmly, he turned to face her, expecting anything from her ignoring him to her hitting him. A pang of regret hit him as he looked at her. Her eyes were hidden by her bangs and he could see that both ear buds were in, unlike the one she had started to use. Lifting a hand, she wiped it across her nose and finally looked up to him. Her black eyes were rimmed in red, making Sanji feel even more like shit than he already had. “Don't you like it here? Aren't you happy with us?”

“Perona, dear, it’s not you, it’s…” He trailed off, snapping his mouth closed. It was a little bit of everything honestly, but a lot of it had to do with Zoro. He didn’t know what else he could do to prove to the stubborn bastard he was worthy. He’d taken enough of the other man’s shit to have not gotten even the smallest hint of recognition.

“Then what?!” She snapped, hands balling into fists in her lap. “We welcomed you in, showed you the truth, made you one of us and now you’re just gonna leave?” Standing, she sniffled and wiped the back of her sleeve across her nose again. “Whatever, just go then.” She took several angry steps away, stomping across the room toward the kitchen and undoubtedly Zoro and Usopp.

Hand on the kitchen door, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder to Sanji. He could see the tear tracks staining her cheeks, making Sanji feel like an even bigger asshole than he already felt, but his mind was made up. He was leaving. That was the end of it. “Goodbye Sanji, it’s been nice living with you.”

Then she was gone, leaving Sanji alone in the dining room with the mess of dinner to clean on his own. He heaved a sigh and scrubbed at his face, groaning against his fingers. Why did this feel so hard all of a sudden?

Numbly he got up to start clean up and worked through the rest of his night void of thought. It was easy in a way, just letting himself get caught up in the mindless task of washing dishes and making sure his knives were clean so he could pack those away. In his hurry before, he’d forgotten them and was damning himself now for being so careless about one of his most prized possessions. But that’s what this place did to him. That’s what Zoro did to him.

He just got so upset at the bastard that he lost his train of thought. That night when he’d decided to leave, Zoro hadn’t even recognized him. Took him for Hydra and had tried to kill him, drown him in his pool. Sanji didn’t need or want to stay around for that shit.

The walk to his room was quiet, not that he had expected anything different. He’d dropped quite the bomb on the household tonight and it was clear that everyone was taking it differently. Still in his daze, Sanji closed his door behind him, got ready for bed and just fell face first against his sheets. Part of him wondered who’d he see at breakfast the next morning, but part of him wasn’t sure he was ready to face them again.

 

* * *

 

Setting the last of the trays at the table, Sanji ran a hand through his hair and picked up his things. He hadn’t been able to really sleep, tossing and turning for most of the night. At about three he had just said fuck it and got up, making his way with bleary eyes down to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Unfortunately he’d seen Zoro as the dragon was coming back from outside, but the other man had simply opened the basement door with a pointed glare before thundering down the wooden steps and disappearing into his den. It was probably better that way anyways.

Pulling his keys from his pocket, he set them quietly besides Mihawk’s breakfast and turned toward the dining room door and making his final walk toward the large front door. This time around he knew just where he was going, but the walk seemed to take just as long as it had the first time.

Just like before and what Sanji had quickly learned was a morning routine, Nami and Brook flew past cawing at one another as they dipped into the library. With a small smile, he shook his head at the birds. There really would be a lot of things he would miss about the manor itself and its everyday life. But he’d made up his mind and it was time to move on.

“Sanji-ya,” He paused as Law came from his office, a folder in hand. “I thought you may do something like this. While I don’t fully understand why you are choosing to leave, it’s not any of my business either way. Here,” he held out the folder, which the blond took hold of.

Law didn’t let it go right away, locking eyes with the chef from under the brim of his hat. Strands of hair stuck out from under his hat and from the dark circles under his eyes, Sanji could see the doctor hadn’t slept at all. “You are a part of this world now, whether you try to fight it or not. I suggest, as your doctor, you embrace this life, even if you do not do it here.”

“Law…” Sanji started, frowning at the other man.

Law let go of the folder and flicked his hand into the air. “I release you from my care Mister Black. Enjoy your day.” And with that, the healer stepped back a pace into his room and closed the door with an echoing click.

Sanji heaved a sigh and thought about knocking on the door, but he didn’t. Law had said his peace and he knew the other man well enough to know when to leave him be. Slapping the folder against his thigh, he turned and continued on his way. The front room was empty and Sanji was able to slip out the large door without being noticed.

It seemed weird to him in a way. He pretty much was leaving the way he came into the manor. Quietly, without encountering but a few of the house’s residents. The walk over the bridge to the mainland was a little long, but he’d done it once and knew he could get a cab as soon as he was across. When he’d arrived, the cab service had dropped him at the bridge and stated that they had been asked to not travel on the island as it was private property. The fact a dragon lived there was more than likely the real reasoning behind it.

His shoes clicked along the pavement as the morning sun lit the sky, pushing away the depth of the night to replace it with the bright hues of the sunrise. A gentle breeze came off the water, keeping the chef’s walk cool as he moved along. Pulling a cigarette from his pack, Sanji was just pulling out his lighter when he heard the rumble of a car behind him.

Turning to look, he wasn’t really surprised to see Usopp in one of the cars speeding toward him. The faun pulled over and rolled down the window. “You left.”

“Yes,” Sanji replied carefully, bending down to talk to the man through the passenger window. He pulled a drag off his smoke, tipping his head to the side to blow a stream of white off to the side. “You knew I was.”

“You’re a real asshole.” The gardener gripped the steering wheel tightly, looking straight ahead. “You were supposed to say goodbye.”

“It’s better this way.” Sanji replied simply.

“For who? Get in Sanji. I’m not gonna let you walk all the way to town.” There was a click as Usopp unlocked the doors. Sanji thought about turning the faun down, but thought better of it, inhaling deeply through his nose and dropping his butt to the ground to grind out under his shoe.

Setting his things in the backseat, Sanji slid into the front seat and closed the door. “Usopp, I…”

“Just shut up Sanji.” The curly haired faun didn’t look at him, keeping his eyes on the road as he shifted back into drive and started on his way. The blond bit at his lip, keeping his head forward and glancing at the other man sidelong across the car.

“I mean, what the fuck?” The words came out of nowhere a few minutes later, the tense silence between them being broken in an angry hiss from the faun. “You just change your mind about all of this or something?”

“No, I was leaving when Hydra took me.” Sanji shot back at him. He didn’t want to leave on these terms. Not with Usopp, but the two of them hadn’t had a chance to talk about anything yet either. “I can’t deal with Zoro and his bullshit.”

“You just don’t understand him, is all. You haven’t given him a chance. He’s been so preoccupied by his brother that…” The faun cut himself off and nodded to himself as they came to a stop. He glanced over to Sanji before giving a dry chuckle. “You’re human after all, I guess it makes sense. You don’t see things the same way we do.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Usopp didn’t answer him right a way, continuing on until they got into the city. He pulled off into the lot of a park, getting out of the car and moving to sit at a bench under a tree. Sanji sat in the car for a moment as he watched before he got out, grabbed his things and followed over to where he was. “Look Usopp,” he started, setting his things down and stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Everyone at the manor is great. I’m really going to miss you guys, but I can’t stay there with that bastard dragon. He tried to kill me, several times.”

“He was scared. Zoro doesn’t like to admit he has weaknesses, but he was just scared. He could smell Hydra on you and reacted pretty badly.” The gardener looked up to him then, his dark eyes wide and hopeful. “You two could talk. He’s calmed down now. He’s been...better the last couple of days.”

“I have nothing to say to him and I am not going back Usopp.” He tried to stay level headed about this. He didn’t want to end on bad terms with him. “He’s never been anything but hostile to me, even the last few days.”

“But…”

“It’s just time for me to go.” Sanji shrugged. “Time for me to move on. I have learned all I can from working in that kitchen and I just need to find a new opportunity that meets my qualifications. Thanks for the ride. I guess I will be seeing you around.”

“Are you seriously just going to act like this was a job? Like the only reason you stayed was to cook for us?” Usopp jumped to his feet, stomping a cloven hoof.

“I have to Usopp. It’s going to make it easier for me to walk away.” Raising a hand he placed it on the gardener’s bare shoulder. “You have my number. Call me. I am really going to miss you. And your stupid sheep.”

The faun jerked forward, wrapping his arms around the blond in a hug and burying his face in Sanji’s shoulder. “Merry. Her name is Merry Sanji.”

“I know.” The chef smiled, raising his arms to hug the other man back.

“I’m going to miss you so much! I will call. I want to stay friends!” The faun sniffled against his shoulder before pulling back. “I really wish you were gonna stay though.”

“I’ll let ya know where I end up and you can come have dinner with me whenever you want, okay?”

“Yeah, I’d really like that.” Stepping back, he nodded and wiped a hand across his nose.

“I better go. And you better get back to the manor. I left breakfast for everyone and they will be getting up soon.” Picking up his things, Sanji gave the faun a fleeting smile. Saying goodbye to Usopp was the one thing he was trying to avoid because he knew it would be the hardest part.

Nodding, Usopp swallowed and turned, making his way back to his car and climbing in. Sanji stood there, watching the gardener as he backed out of the spot and drove away. He was actually glad he couldn’t see it when he knew Usopp looked back. The other man was so damned predictable at times it wasn’t even funny.

Inhaling deeply, Sanji sighed, once again pulling a cigarette and lighting it. Then he turned and started his walk across the park grass toward where his old man lived. He would probably be really pissed to see Sanji at such an early hour asking to stay in his old room for a little, but the blond knew he would be welcomed despite the scolding he would most likely get. It wouldn’t be that hard for him to get a job at a restaurant either. He had the skills, references and experience to land a job at pretty much any shitty establishment this city had to offer.

A dog barked and Sanji turned to see a jogger running down a path, a dog happily running along beside her. He blinked a couple times as he watched, grinning to himself when indeed, it was just a dog and a woman. No veil, no shimmer and nothing magical about either of them.

Sucking a drag off his cigarette, Sanji turned back in the direction he had been walking in, unable to keep the grin off his face.


	42. Epilogue

It snuck up on him like it always did. He could feel them just beyond his skin, wanting to touch but just never quite able to do so. The ethereal tendrils ghosting at his skin, wanting, needing to caress as they silently searched him out. Always seeking his presence as they started slowly closing in again and he had nowhere to run this time. No way to escape. Beady little black eyes watched him from the bare tree branches,unblinking; watching, waiting. The throaty call of the raven sounded and the large black bird flew off into the night.

Sanji sat straight up from a dead sleep gasping for breath. Swallowing in a poor attempt to wet his throat, he panted, trying in vain to calm his racing heart. He squeezed his eyes shut even though his room was still dark, but it did little good. He just couldn't get that sound out of his head. Or the tingling feeling of those tendrils off his skin.

Kicking the covers aside, he stood on shaky legs, cursing himself for letting this consume him as it had. Throwing open the sliding door to the balcony, he welcomed the cool air of the night on his heated skin. Was he sweating? Wiping a hand across his forehead, Sanji swallowed again, placing his hands on the wooden railing and peering into the darkness.

He couldn't see anything, let alone a black raven, glancing down as his cat hopped out with him. "What good are you if I still have the nightmares?"

Morgan was a feisty bastard with three legs and a bad attitude. He'd been told the large cat was unadoptable because he was prone to bite, but that had just made the chef want him more. He knew a dire cat when he saw one nowadays anyways. Larger than your biggest of house cats, the creature was good at hunting prey most cats wouldn’t dream of touching, including ravens.

The yellow Tom let out a yowl and jumped up onto the wooden rail, sitting and peering at Sanji with his green eyes. "Just...just keep watch Morgan. They feel so real in my dreams. So close."

Sanji reached out to pet the animal, but thought better of it, instead turning to go back inside, leaving the door open a sliver for the animal. "Are you okay?" His girlfriend asked as he crawled back into bed.

"Yeah, just go back to sleep." Raising his arm as she rolled over to cuddle against him, Sanji rested it across her shoulders as he stared at the ceiling. What was he doing? How had it come to this? He'd just been looking for a normal life. Thought he’d gotten away from the Manor and that life, yet it was still haunting him.

 


End file.
